Dicephalus parapagus conjoined twins discordant for anencephaly: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Cases of conjoined twins occur so rarely that it is important to learn as much as possible from each case. CASE PRESENTATION: We present a case of 9-hour-old, female, Nigerian dicephalus parapagus conjoined twins discordant for anencephaly diagnosed only after the birth of the twins. The anencephalic twin was stillborn while the normal one died within 9 hours of birth from cardiopulmonary failure. CONCLUSION: Many congenital defects of interest can now be detected before birth. A severe lesion such as that found in our index case, which is incompatible with postnatal life, requires counselling. If detected early enough during a properly monitored antenatal care, it may indicate termination of pregnancy

Lymphomas in sub-Saharan Africa - what can we learn and how can we help in improving diagnosis, managing patients and fostering translational research?

Approximately 30 000 cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) occur in the equatorial belt of Africa each year. Apart from the fact that Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is very common among children and adolescents in Africa and that an epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is currently ongoing in this part of the world, very little is known about lymphomas in Africa. This review provides information regarding the current infrastructure for diagnostics in sub-Saharan Africa. The results on the diagnostic accuracy and on the distribution of different lymphoma subsets in sub-Saharan Africa were based on a review undertaken by a team of lymphoma experts on 159 fine needle aspirate samples and 467 histological samples during their visit to selected sub- Saharan African centres is presented. Among children (age), BL accounted for 82% of all NHL, and among adults, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma accounted for 55% of all NHLs. Among adults, various lymphomas other than BL, including T-cell lymphomas, were encountered. The review also discusses the current strategies of the International Network of Cancer Treatment and Research on improving the diagnostic standards and management of lymphoma patients and in acquiring reliable clinical and pathology data in sub- Saharan Africa for fostering high-quality translational research

Cavernous hemangioma of the left forearm

Cavernous hemangiomas are benign hamartomatous proliferation of endothelial tissues. They can arise virtually anywhere in the body and do not contain tissues native to the organ or structure in which they are located. Contrary to what is seen in capillary hemangiomas and the cavernous cutaneous variety, intramuscular hemangiomas almost always never regress. We report a case of intramuscular cavernous hemangioma in an 18-year-old male Nigerian with swelling in the left forearm of 9 years duration. The swelling progressively increased in size and nearly involved the entire forearm with occasional pain and no preceding history of trauma. Pre-operative plain radiographs showed an ill-defined soft tissue swelling with multiple calcifications or phleboliths. Surgical excision with ligation of feeding vessels was done and histology confirmed the diagnosis with free margin of excision. Post-operative clinical improvement was marked

The role of hospital-based cancer registries in low and middle income countries-The Nigerian Case Study.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of cancer continues to rise all over the world and current projections show that there will be 1.27 million new cases and almost 1 million deaths by 2030. In view of the rising incidence of cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, urgent steps are needed to guide appropriate policy, health sector investment and resource allocation. We posit that hospital based cancer registries (HBCR) are fundamental sources of information on the frequent cancer sites in limited resource regions where population level data is often unavailable. In regions where population based cancer registries are not in existence, HBCR are beneficial for policy and planning. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Nineteen of twenty-one cancer registries in Nigeria met the definition of HBCR, and from these registries, we requested data on cancer cases recorded from January 2009 to December 2010. 16 of the 19 registries (84%) responded. Data on year hospital was established; year cancer registry was established, no. of pathologists and types of oncology services available in each tertiary health facility were shown. Analysis of relative frequency of cancers in each HBCR, the basis of diagnosis recorded in the HBCR and the total number of cases recorded by gender was carried out. RESULTS: The total number of cancers registered in these 11 hospital based cancer registries in 2009 and 2010 was 6484. The number of new cancer cases recorded annually in these hospital based cancer registries on average was 117 cases in males and I77 cases in females. Breast and cervical cancer were the most common cancers seen in women while prostate cancer was the commonest among men seen in these tertiary hospitals. CONCLUSION: Information provided by HBCR is beneficial and can be utilized for the improvement of cancer care delivery systems in low and middle income countries where there are no population based cancer registries