Review of immunohistochemical typing of endometrial carcinoma at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Background: Categorization of endometrial carcinomas as type I and II provides useful insights into their different risk factors, pathogenesis and biologic behaviours. Aim: To determine the immunohistochemical classifications of endometrial carcinomas in Nigerian women. Design: A retrospective review of histopathologic slides of cases of endometrial carcinomas seen at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) over a 5-year period. The slides were reviewed, and the diagnoses made according to the WHO nomenclature. The classification of endometrial carcinomas into Type I and II was made by immunohistochemistry using antibodies to ER, PR, p53 and Ki-67. Results: Eight cases of endometrial adenocarcinoma were reported accounting for 53.3% of all endometrial malignancies. Of these, only 1 case showed the classic type I immunophenotype while type II staining pattern was seen in 4 cases. The remaining 3 cases had equivocal immunophenotypes: one was p53+ but showed ER+, PR+ and high Ki-67 index; the second was p53-, ER+, PR+ but had a high Ki-67 expression; while the last was p53-, but ER-, PR- and had high Ki-67 expression. Conclusion: Endometrial carcinomas in Nigerian women are more likely to be type II carcinomas. A reasonable proportion of the cases were equivocal thus requiring further categorization with molecular studies

Clinicopathological and molecular characteristics of Ku 70/80 expression in Nigerian breast cancer and its potential therapeutic implications

Ku 70/80 is a regulator of the Non-Homologous End Joining (NHEJ) roles in clinicopathological features, and has prognostic significance in breast cancer (BC) in Caucasian populations. However, its significance in the Nigerian BC population, which is characterized by a higher rate of the triple-negative and basal phenotype, p53 mutation rate and BRCA1 deficiency, still needs to be investigated. We hypothesize that Ku70/80 expression shows adverse expression in Nigerian BC and, furthermore, that it is likely to have a therapeutic implication for Black BC management.This study investigated the biological, clinicopathological and prognostic significance of Ku 70/80 expression in a BC cohort from a Nigerian population. Ku 70/80 expression was determined in 188 well-characterized formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) BC samples using tissue microarray and immunohistochemistry. Ku 70/80 expression was correlated with clinicopathological, molecular and prognostic characteristics of patients.Ku 70/80 was expressed in 113 (60.1%) tumors, and was positively associated with metastatic disease, triple-negative and basal phenotype, BRCA1 down regulators (MTA-1 and ID4), p-cadherin, PI3KCA and p53 expression. It inversely correlated with BRCA1, BRCA2, BARD1 and p27. Ku 70/80 was predictive of breast cancer-specific survival in multivariate analysis, but not of disease-free interval.This study demonstrated that Ku 70/80 expression is associated with triple negativity and down-regulation of the homologous recombination pathway of DNA repair. Therefore, the development of novel drugs to target KU70/80 may improve the patients’ outcome in the treatment of Black BC

Developing National Cancer Registration in Developing Countries - Case Study of the Nigerian National System of Cancer Registries.

The epidemiological transition in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) has given rise to a concomitant increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases including cancers. Worldwide, cancer registries have been shown to be critical for the determination of cancer burden, conduct of research, and in the planning and implementation of cancer control measures. Cancer registration though vital is often neglected in SSA owing to competing demands for resources for healthcare. We report the implementation of a system for representative nation-wide cancer registration in Nigeria - the Nigerian National System of Cancer Registries (NSCR). The NSCR coordinates the activities of cancer registries in Nigeria, strengthens existing registries, establishes new registries, complies and analyses data, and makes these freely available to researchers and policy makers. We highlight the key challenges encountered in implementing this strategy and how they were overcome. This report serves as a guide for other low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) wishing to expand cancer registration coverage in their countries and highlights the training, mentoring, scientific and logistic support, and advocacy that are crucial to sustaining cancer registration programs in LMIC

Follicular Lymphoma In Situ Presenting as Dermatopathic Lymphadenopathy

Introduction. Follicular lymphoma in situ (FLIS) is a recently described entity with few cases recognized worldwide. To our knowledge, this is the first FLIS reported from West Africa. Case Presentation. We present the case of a 48-year-old civil servant with axillary lymphadenopathy discovered on routine mammography. On histology, a predominant reactive change with aggregates of melanophages was seen prompting a diagnosis of reactive lymphadenopathy. Immunohistochemistry done in our laboratory showed CD10 and Bcl-6 positive germinal centres with a small population of Bcl-2 positive germinal centre centre cells that were limited to some of the germinal centres. Conclusion. This highlights the use of immunohistochemistry in lymph node pathology—a resource which is very limited in our environment

Overexpression of p53 in Nigerian breast cancers and its relationship with tumour grade and oestrogen /progesterone expressions

Background: Mutation of the tumour suppressor gene, p53, is implicated in most cancers. This gene has also been associated with high tumour grade in breast cancers. African women are known to generally have high grade tumours. This study sought to determine the expression of p53 protein as well as the relationship with oestrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) proteins.Methodology: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples of diagnosed invasive breast cancer were obtained from the Department of Anatomic and Molecular Pathology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos, Nigeria between 2002 and 2005. The clinical details of the patients were obtained from the histological request forms. Immunohistochemical studies were carried out in the Department of Histopathology, Royal Cornwall Hospital, Truro, United Kingdom with the automated Vision Biosystems Bond-Max Machines. The statistical analysis was done with SPSS version 12.Results: Overexpression of p53 is seen in (86/116) 73.1% in Nigerian breast cancers and 89.6% of these cancers were of higher grade. The study also showed that (27/35)77.1% of ER positive patients also showed p53 overexpression (p=0.592). We also found that (64/93) 68.8% of PR negative patients overexpressed p53 while (21/23) 91.3% of PR positive cases overexpressed p53 (p=0.036).Conclusion: Most Nigerian breast cancer cases were of high grade and showed p53 overexpression. We found no significant relationship between p53 overexpression and ER status but, there was a significant relationship between PR status and p53 overexpression. Further studies are advocated to determine the prognostic value of p53 in Nigerian breast cancer cases.Keywords: High grade, immunohistochemistry, low grade, tumour suppressor gene, well differentiate

Correlation between Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology and Histology for Palpable Breast Masses in a Nigerian Tertiary Health Institution

Background. Management of breast lumps can be challenging in resource poor settings. Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) especially when used with cell block can help improve affordability for the patients. Objective. To determine the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC of palpable breast lesions within a 5-year period. Methods. The findings obtained from FNAC of palpable breast lumps seen at the FNAC clinic of our department from January 2007 to December 2011 were retrieved and correlated with findings on histology of excisional biopsies. Results. A total of 1790 patients had FNAC of breast lumps during the 5-year period; 436 of them subsequently had biopsies. Our results compare favourably with the measures of test performance of the UK NHS Breast Screening Programme shown in brackets: absolute sensitivity 95.4% (>70%), complete sensitivity 99.2% (>90%), full specificity 88.9% (>65%), positive predictive value 99.6% (>99%), false-negative rate 0.8% (<4%), false-positive rate 0.4% (<0.5%), inadequate rate 3.2% (<15%), and suspicious rate 10.2% (<15%). Conclusion. Breast FNACs compare very well with histology of excisional biopsies and in experienced hands are extremely useful in the management of breast lumps. Further studies assessing the diagnostic accuracy of FNAC and cell blocks in our setting are recommended

Comparative Assessment of p16/Ki-67 Dual Staining Technology for cervical cancer screening in women living with HIV (COMPASS-DUST)-Study protocol.

The risk of progression of low-grade (CIN1) to high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2/3) is 3-5 times higher for women living with HIV (WLHIV) than for HIV-negative women. Evidence suggests that the current cervical cancer screening methods perform less effectively in WLHIV. An emerging screening method-p16/Ki-67 dual staining technology (DUST) is a safe and rapid assay that could be used to detect CIN2/3 with higher sensitivity and specificity. The study in this protocol will evaluate the performance of DUST in cervical cancer screening among WLHIV. We will conduct an intra-participant comparative study (Phase 1) to enrol n = 1,123 sexually active WLHIV aged 25-65 years at two accredited adult HIV treatment centres in Lagos, Nigeria to compare the performance of DUST to the currently used screening methods (Pap smear, hr-HPV DNA, or VIA testing) in detecting high-grade CIN and cancer (CIN2+). Subsequently, a prospective cohort study (Phase 2) will be conducted by enrolling all the WLHIV who are diagnosed as having low-grade CIN (CIN1) in Phase 1 for a 6-monthly follow-up for 2 years to detect the persistence and progression of CIN1 to CIN2+. The findings of this study may provide evidence of the existence of a better performance screening method for the primary and triage detection of CIN2+ in WLHIV. It may also demonstrate that this high-performance test can improve the long-term predictive accuracy of screening by extending the intervals between evaluations and thus decrease the overall cost and increase screening uptake and follow-up compliance in WLHIV

Study framework.

Study framework.</p