Objectives: Head and neck (HN) lesions occur globally, with remarkable morbidity and mortality. However, in our setting, relevant data are lacking to show its clinicopathologic nature. Hence, we aimed to review the clinicopathological patterns and incidence of HN lesions within a 10-year (January 2010 to December 2019) period as well as provide useful data/information to help in better future management of patients with HN lesions. Material and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of HN lesions (with respect to age, gender, site of lesion, and histopathological diagnosis) at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital Uyo from January 2010 to December 2019. Results: A total of 276 HN lesions were analyzed over a 10-year period, with a prevalence of 0.004. Patients with the highest volume of HN lesions were within the 30–<40 age group. The lesions were more in females (53.6%) with M: F ratio of 1:1.2. There were more neoplastic HN lesions (85.1%) than non-neoplastic HN lesions (14.9%). The benign HN lesions (67.7%) were also more frequent than the malignant HN lesions (32.3%). And the benign neoplastic HN lesions (79.5%) were more than benign non-neoplastic HN lesions (20.5%). Conclusion: The most common HN lesions, respectively, in different subcategories, found in this study were squamous cell carcinoma, nodular goiter, inflammatory nasal polyps, and cystic hygroma. We recommend study of HN lesions’ possible etiologic/risk factors as well as a nationwide survey to determine a national prevalence of HN lesions.

Background: There are many studies on the pattern and incidence of cancer, but there are few documented works on cancer mortality (CM). Even fewer are African studies on CM that encompass all cancers and reveal the relative contributions of the various cancers to the overall burden of CM. This retrospective study was therefore performed to determine the types and patterns of cancer deaths in Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital, Nnewi, Southeast, Nigeria, during the 10-year period from 2010 to 2019. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from the death data files in the mortuary unit of the department of anatomic pathology. These death data document the cause of death as issued by the attending medical/surgical/oncology teams or the pathologist that performed an autopsy on the deceased. Data collected included the deceased's age, sex, and underlying cause and date of death. Results: One thousand one hundred and sixty-six deaths (representing 10.3% of all hospital deaths) were due to cancers. There were 472 (40.5%) males and 694 (59.5%) females in the series (P < 0.001), giving a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.5. The mean age for males was 53.2 ± 22.6 years and that of females was 48.3 ± 17.9 years. A bimodal age distribution pattern of CM was noticed with peaks in the 0–10-year and 51–60-year age groups (P < 0.001). The second peak occurs a decade earlier in females (51–60 years) than in males (61–70 years). In terms of type, breast, liver, and hematological malignancies were among the top three causes of cancer deaths. Cancers of the breast, liver, hematolymphoid tissues, ovary, and cervix were the largest contributors to the cancer-associated mortality burden among females. Prostate, liver, hematological, pancreas, and colorectal malignancies were the leading cause of CM among males. Hematological malignancies resulted in the death of more children and young adults younger than 31 years. Breast and liver cancers accounted for the most cancer deaths that affected patients in the 31–60-year-old age group, while deaths due to prostate cancer predominated in those above 60 years of age. Conclusion: Cancers have remained a vital cause of mortality in our setting. Screening for premalignant lesions, early detection, and treatment of cancers are therefore keys to improving dismal outcomes.

Castleman disease (CD), or angiofollicular hyperplasia, or giant lymph node hyperplasia, is a heterogeneous benign lymphoproliferative disorder of unknown etiology. It has three distinct histologic subtypes (hyaline vascular, plasma cell, and mixed hyaline vascular plasma cell types) as well as unicentric Castleman disease (UCD) and multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) variants. In the unicentric form, the disease is confined to one anatomical lymph node and usually with no systemic symptoms. However, in the multicentric form (further subdivided into idiopathic MCD, human herpes virus-8-associated MCD, and POEMS-associated MCD), lymphadenopathy is more generalized with more aggressive systemic symptoms mimicking a malignant lymphoma. Therefore, this case report aims to underscore the importance of immunohistochemical evaluation as an indispensable ancillary technique to routine histopathological examination of a lymph node biopsy specimen, as a gold standard for definitive diagnosis of proliferative lymph node lesions.

Objectives: We aimed to study the immunohistochemical and clinicopathological characteristics of invasive breast carcinoma among Nigerian women. Methods: We conducted a retrospective assessment of female patients diagnosed with breast carcinoma at a tertiary hospital in Nigeria between 2012 and 2019. Archived pathology request forms and processed specimens (tissue blocks and slides) were used as source data in addition to the patients’ demographic and other relevant data. Results: Reports pertaining to 113 patients were assessed. Their age range was 30 to 80 years (mean = 52.1±12.1 years). Breast carcinoma was most common in patients aged 40 to 49 years (32.7%), closely followed by those aged 50 to 59 years (30.1%). Invasive ductal carcinoma was the most common histopathological subtype (94.7%). Nottingham grade III and grade II breast carcinoma accounted for 41.6% and 40.7% of the cases, respectively. Mastectomy specimens formed 68.1% of the samples. The most common tumor size (75.9%) was > 5cm (mean = 6.8±3.2cm), consistent with the most common staging of T3 (46.0%). The most common lymph node involvement was N1 (56.6%). Immunohistochemical assessment of these tumors with estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER-2) biomarkers expressed positivity of 36.3%, 28.3%, and 41.6%, respectively. These tumors were immunohistochemically classified into luminal A (16.8%), luminal B (20.4%), HER-2 enriched (20.4%), and triple-negative (42.5%) subtypes. Conclusions: The most common immunohistochemical subtype of invasive breast carcinoma among this sample of Nigerian women was the triple-negative subtype, similar to the finding among African Americans.

Objectives: HIV infection in pregnancy affects the mother, her placenta, and fetus resulting in perinatal/maternal morbidity and mortality. Studies show that HIV-positive mothers have several placental morphological changes. This study aimed to describe the histomorphometric parameters/lesions of placentas of HIV-positive mothers in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional hospital-based analytical study was conducted at the departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Histopathology, University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Nigeria from December 2015 to May 2016. We studied 144 pregnant mothers (48 HIV-positive as the test group vs. 96 HIV-negative as controls). Their placentas (fetal membrane, umbilical cord, and placental disk) were collected post-delivery and evaluated (grossly/microscopically) to determine the range of histomorphometric placental parameters/lesions. Relevant obstetric data were obtained from their case notes. Results: The test group delivered more through cesarean section than the control group (52.1% vs. 31.3%), with mean birth weights of 2.8±0.7 and 3.1±0.6 kg (p =0.004). The mean placental weights were 57±190.1 and 664.6±167.4 g (p =0.003), with mean placenta-birth weight ratio of 20.1±4.8 and 20.5±4.57% (p =0.33). The test groups placental fetal membranes, umbilical cords, and disks mainly displayed acute chorioamnionitis (47.9%), acute umbilical phlebitis (14.6%), and villous vasculopathy (33.3%). The test group had a higher stage/grade of placental inflammation than the control group. In the test group, two stage 4 HIV disease state cases presented with the most severe form of placental inflammatory lesions. Conclusions: The commonest placental histomorphometric parameters/lesions were acute chorioamnionitis, acute umbilical phlebitis, and acute intervillositis. There was no significant association between HIV/AIDS disease stage with the most severe forms of placental inflammatory lesions.

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