Full Length Research Paper

Gastric malignancies and associated pre-malignant lesions in a teaching hospital in South West Nigeria

A. O. Komolafe¹*, O. S. Ojo² and B. J. Olasode²

¹Department of Morbid Anatomy and Histopathology, Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo, Nigeria.

²Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

*Corresponding author. E-mail: akinkomo1@yahoo.com. Tel: +234 803 3557741.

Accepted 31 March, 2008

The histologic types of gastric malignancies and other associated histopathological indices in gastric biopsies received at the Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria were determined. The study was retrospective and it involved collecting all slides on all available cases of gastric biopsies over a period of ten years and reviewing them to screen for gastric malignancies and associated pathologies of the stomach. Out of 107 cases of gastric malignancies reviewed, 102 (95.3%) were carcinomas, 3 (2.8%) were sarcomas and 2 (1.9%) cases were lymphomas. Of 102 cases of carcinomas, 36 (35.3%) were tubular adenocarcinomas, 14 (13.7%) cases were papillary adenocarcinomas, 22 (21.6%) cases were mucinous adenocarcinomas, 9 (8.8%) cases were signet carcinomas, and 21 (20.6%) were poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas. One hundred and two (95.33%) cases of gastric malignancies were in the pyloric antrum, 3 (2.80%) were in the gastric cardia, and 1 case each (0.93%) in the corpus and fundus. Sixty-four (60%) of cases showed moderate to numerous Helicobacter pylori. Mild chronic gastritis was seen in 11 (10%) cases, moderate chronic gastritis was seen in 75 (70%) of cases, and severe chronic gastritis was seen in 16 (15%) cases. Five (5%) cases were indeterminate. Mild glandular atrophy was seen in 5 (5%) cases, 32 cases (30%) showed moderate glandular atrophy, 1 (1%) case of severe glandular atrophy was seen. Intestinal metaplasia was seen in 17 cases (16%). Peptic ulcer disease was not seen in any of the cases.

Key word: Gastric malignancies, pre-malignant lesions, Nigeria.