Malignant tumours of the nasopharynx at Jos University Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.

A retrospective epidemiological study of 55 patients who had been histologically diagnosed as having nasopharyngeal malignancy was undertaken at the Jos University Teaching Hospital in the period from December 1988 to November 1998. Jos is at the heart of the middle belt of Nigeria and is made up of peoples of various tribes and religions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiological factors, clinical presentation, histological pattern and treatment outcome in the patients during the study period. Fewer females were affected than males with a ratio of 1:1.6. Age range was 35-82 years with an average age of 42.19 years. Most of the well documented predisposing factors were absent in this series and the role of smoking and alcohol is unclear. Squamous cell carcinoma (72.7%) was the commonest epithelial malignancy with the incidence of the well differentiated type (WHO type 1) being as high as 34.5%. Rhabdomyosarcoma (14.8%) was the commonest sarcoma. Neck swelling 70.9%, Nasal stuffiness 41.8%, epistaxis 34.5% and pharyngeal mass 25.5% were the commonest symptoms. Treatment and follow-up were unsatisfactory as patients could not afford the cost of radiotherapy and anti-cancer drugs.