A ten year histopathological review of breast lumps in a tertiary health institution in Nigeria.

The aim of this work was to evaluate retrospectively the prevalence of various breast lesions in women living in Benin City and environs and to determine the common age of onset of different lesions. The pathology reports and charts of all patients who had breast masses excised in the University of Benin Teaching hospital between January 2001 and December 2010 were reviewed. One thousand four hundred and fifty-three (1453) breast lesions were analysed out of which 38 (2.6%) were from males while 1415 (97.4%) were from females giving a male to female ratio of 1:37. There were 1002 (69%) benign lesions and 451 (31%) malignant lesions (ratio 2:1). For the female breast, benign lesions were 971 (68.6%) while malignant lesions constituted 444 (31.4%), whereas in the males (n=31), 81.6% of breast lesions were benign leaving only (n=7) 18.4% as malignant. Of all the Benign lesions, fibroadenoma was the most frequent, constituting 359 (37%) followed by fibrocystic change disease which accounted for 238 (24.5%). Fibroadenoma had a mean age of 22.3 (SD = 5.5) years. This was followed closely by invasive ductal carcinoma with a mean age of 48.2 (SD = 4.1) years. Fibrocystic change disease occurred in women with a mean age of 30 (SD = 3.5) years, whereas sclerosing adenosis was found to occur most commonly in women with a mean age of 27.1 (SD =5.5). The most common age of occurrence of fibrous disease of the breast was 31.3 (SD = 5.4). Only 38 breast lesions were seen in the male with gynaecomastia constituting the majority, 30 (79.0%) and invasive ductal carcinoma making up 15.8%. The mean ages for gynaecomastia and invasive ductal carcinoma in the male breast were 42.0 (SD = 9.1) and 56.7 (SD = 7.3) years respectively. Fibroadenoma still remains the most common benign breast lesion in female while gynaecomastia is the commonest benign breast lesion in males. Breast Cancer tends to occur at significantly higher age in males than in females. The age ranges of both male and female breast cancer patients need to be considered in setting up breast cancer screening programme

Gravimetric and Histologic Changes in Rat Testes Following Oral Congo Red Administration

Extremely high dose (g/kg) of Congo red has been reportedly used in assessing the testicular effects of this dye in mice and rats based on prenatal exposure. In our experience, low doses (mg/kg) have produced hepatotoxic effects in chickens and serum enzyme inhibition in rats following oral and intraperitoneal administration. Thus the objective of this study was to find out if our low doses can cause testicular toxicity. Hence the effect(s) of orally administered low doses of Congo red (CR) on rat testes was investigated using gravimetric and histologic methods. When compared to CR-free rats, the testes weights of rats exposed to 10, 20, 30 and 40mg CR/kg body weight (once a week for 6 weeks) significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Histological examination of the testes revealed the presence of disrupted tubular basement membranes in rats exposed to 10, 20, 30 and 40mg CR. Changes in the two parameters studied were not noticed in rats exposed to 5mg CR but became readily evident as the dose increased. The results presented here suggest that low doses of Congo red are able to induce adverse testicular effect in rats. Key words: Congo red, rat testicular changes Journal of Medical Laboratory Science Vol.12(2) 2003: 42 - 4

Intestinal Obstruction due to Bilateral Ovarian Cystic Teratoma in a Pregnant Woman: Report of a Case

Teratoma is the most common ovarian tumour associated with pregnancy. The complications in pregnancy include torsion, rupture and malignant transformation mimicking ovarian carcinoma. Its association with intestinal obstruction is uncommon. Case: A 35 year old gravida 5 para 4 woman with 18 week gestation was referred to our hospital with a 2 week history of abdominal pain, abdominal distension and vomiting. Initial physical examination and ultrasound scan showed bilateral ovarian masses andintrauterine singleton viable pregnancy. At surgery the right mass was observed to be adherent to a part of the small intestine. The masses were excised and confirmed grossly and histologically as benign cystic teratoma. She was well and discharged nine days post operatively. The pregnancy was managed conservatively and she was delivered of a normal male baby at term by spontaneous vertex delivery. Although intestinal obstruction due to benign cystic teratoma in pregnancy is uncommon, abrupt surgical intervention and conservative management is important for favourable outcome (Afr J Reprod Health 2011; 15[1]: 115-118)

Awareness And Utilization Of Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy (FNAB) Among Doctors In A Teaching Hospital In Nigeria

Fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) has been in practice for quite sometime now. It is however not commonly requested for by doctors at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin City. This study was carried out to determine the awareness and utilization of FNAB. It aims at encouraging medical practitioners to avail themselves of the benefits of this procedure as an aid to diagnosis of some tumours. Whereas 112 out of 113 (99.1%) of doctors surveyed have heard of FNAB and 112 (99.1%) think that FNAB is necessary, only 49 doctors (43.3%) have ever requested for it. Although 46 out of 56 (82.1%) doctors claimed that fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is relevant to the management of their patients, as high as 89.1% of them have low request (0-5times) for the procedure. Only 2 out of 110 doctors (1.8%) have requested for FNAC on more than 10 occasions. Also all of those who made these requests were doctors in Consultant category. This, coupled with the fact that 102 out of 113 (90.3%) of doctors did not have adequate knowledge of the utilization of FNAB as a diagnostic procedure for tumour detection during undergraduate training, implies that the experience with the utilization of FNAB among consultants was acquired during postgraduate training. There is need to emphasize the usefulness of FNAC as a diagnostic procedure in tumour detection during undergraduate training. The contribution of FNAB to the overall health care delivery system is highlighted. Keywords: Fine needle aspiration biopsy, Awareness, Utilization. Annals of Biomedical Sciences Vol. 6 (2) 2007: pp. 6-1