Histopathological Analysis of Gastric Cancers in University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital: A 20-Year Review

Abstract

Gastric cancer is a relatively common malignancy in Nigeria. Gastric cancer varies from region, being 4th to 20th in proportion to other malignancies. The symptom and signs are often non-specific with the early stages of the disease. This may be responsible for late presentation and poor prognosis. This is a 20-year retrospective analysis of 107 histopathologically confirmed gastric cancers in the department of pathology. This study aimed to analyze the Histopathological patterns of all the gastric cancer cases diagnosed in U.I.T.H Ilorin, over a twenty-year period. Gastric cancers were classified according to WHO 2010 and Lauren classification of gastric cancers. A total of 107 cases of gastric cancers diagnosed, that met the inclusion criteria, were analyzed with male: female ratio of 1.3:1 out of which epithelial malignancy accounted for 93.5% with tubular adenocarcinoma representing the commonest epithelial subtype. Epithelial malignancy is the commonest histological type in this area. Therefore, it is recommended that patients above 40 years with dyspepsia and other alarm features should undergo routine endoscopic screening.