A review of genitourinary cancers at the Korle-Bu teaching hospital Accra, Ghana.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and pattern of genitourinary malignancies seen at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana
MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of genitourinary malignancies seen at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital from 1980 to 1990 was undertaken. Data was obtained from the operating theatre register, histopathology reports, and patient case notes. Information retrieved included age and sex of patients, organ involved and laterality where appropriate and tumour type.
RESULTS: 548 genitourinary malignancies were seen, of which 479 (87.4%) were in males and 69 (12.6%) in females. Adults comprised 93.4% and children 6.6%. The organ-specific distribution was as follows-prostate 349 (63.7%), bladder 117 (21.3%), kidney 57 (10.4%), testis 13 (2.4%), penis 10 (1.8%) and one each of the ureter and urethra. The kidney tumours comprised nephroblatoma (56.1%), adenocarcinoma (35.1%) with the rest being of urothelial origin. Of the bladder tumours, 50.4 % and 44.8 % were transitional cell and squamous cell carcinoma respectively. Virtually all the prostatic cancers (99%) were adenocarcinomas. Of the testicular tumours 8(61.5%) were of germ cell and 5 (38.5%) non-germ cell origin. The penile cancers were all squamous. The ureteric and urethral tumours were due to transitional cell and squamous cell carcinomas respectively.
CONCLUSION: Prostatic carcinoma was the predominant genitourinary tumour, accounting for nearly two-thirds of cases, followed by the bladder and the kidney. Other tumours were relatively uncommon. Transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder was seen a little more commonly than the squamous type.