GASTROINTESTINAL CANCERS IN NORTHERN GHANA: A HISTOPATHOLOGICAL REVIEW IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PATHOLOGY; TAMALE TEACHING HOSPITAL

ABSTRACT Published data on GIT cancers in Northern Ghana is scanty. The aim of this review was to document the spectrum and the clinico-pathological characteristics of GIT cancers diagnosed in northern Ghana as a baseline data. Material and Methods: This was a histopathological review (n = 238) from 1st January, 2013 to 31st December, 2020. Data were analysed using SPSS software, version 26.0 (Chicago). Fisher’s exact test with a significance level of 0.05 was performed using GraphPad Prism software v.6.01. Results: The common GIT cancers were: Stomach (49.6%), oesophagus (22.7%), and colorectal (20.6%). The mean ages in years were: stomach (54.4 ±18.3), oesophagus (57.0±19.1) and colorectal (50.8±19.6). Stomach (54.2%; P=0.2413) and colorectal (59.2%; P= 0.3660) cancers were slightly common in males, but oesophagus cancer was commoner in females (53.7%; P=0.1056). The common clinical presentation by sites were: stomach (epigastric pain; 41.5%), oesophagus (dysphagia; 27.8%) and colorectal (altered bowel habits; 36.2%). Invasive adenocarcinoma was the commonest histological subtypes for stomach (88.1%), oesophagus (53.7%), colorectal (79.6%) and the small bowel ((50.0%), however, for the appendix it was GIST (50.0%). The common sites of colorectal malignancies were: recto-sigmoid (51.0%), caecum (22.4%) and ano-rectum (16.2%). A total of 25 (51.0%) resected large specimens had Duke’s staging, of which 10 (40.0%) were stage C. Conclusion: The common GIT cancers were: gastric, oesophagus, colorectal and the small bowel, and the common clinical symptoms were epigastric pain and dysphagia. Most of these malignancies were relatively common in elderly males, with advanced clinical and histological stages at presentation.