The histology of nasopharyngeal masses: a comparison between HIV positive and HIV negative patients

Epidemiology and demographics of head and neck cancer in Africa: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

Low- to middle-income countries account for 70% of global cancer deaths. Evidence of the changing prevalence of head and neck cancer in Africa in terms of gender, race and epidemiology will inform future research and health planning.

AIM

To synthesise epidemiological literature for head and neck cancer in Africa from 2010 to 2020.

METHOD

A scoping review was completed. The Joanna Briggs Institute Population, context and concept framework confirmed the inclusion criteria. Studies from Africa that included participant demographics, the types, stages, signs and symptoms of head and neck cancer were selected. Five databases were used. Descriptive statistics was completed.

RESULTS

The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalysis guided the reporting of the findings. Of the 1891 articles downloaded, 66 were included in the final review. Nigeria produced the most studies and oral cancer at 74% was most prevalent. Substance abuse was the most prevalent cause. Diagnosis of head and neck cancers were in the late stage (stage IV) when signs and symptoms were severe. Males of lower socioeconomic status tended to have less health seeking behaviour.

CONCLUSION

Countries from North Africa produce the most research outputs on head and neck cancers. Gender differences were noted and may be linked to lifestyle choices. A range of head and neck cancers (HNCs) are prevalent however late diagnosis and severe symptomatology impact treatment options.Contribution: Earlier diagnosis and intervention to prevent late-stage diagnosis is necessary. Awareness campaigns linked to evidence on causes, habits and lifestyle choices, signs and symptoms are needed.

Ten years of experience in clinicopathologic characteristics, treatment and outcome of patients with nasopharyngeal pathologies in Yazd, Iran

Introduction

Although there are some studies regarding the clinical characteristics and outcome of nasopharyngeal tumors, one such study from Iran has not been reported to date. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features, treatment, and consequences of nasopharyngeal lesions.

Methods

In this cross sectional study, we conducted a retrospective review of patients who were diagnosed with nasopharyngeal pathologies and treated at Shahid Sadoughi Hospital and Shahid Ramazanzadeh Radiotherapy Center in Yazd, Iran, over a period of 10 years (from 2005 to 2014). The variables in the study were the patient’s hospital registration number, date, name, age, gender, address, topography, clinical symptoms, morphology, stage, types of treatment, and survival for each subject. Survival data were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier estimates, and multivariate analysis was performed using the Cox regression method. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM-SPSS, version 22.

Results

In the study, there were 123 patients, 85 males and 38 females, who had nasopharyngeal lesions. The mean age at diagnosis was 41.51 ± 20.33 years. There were 83 patients with malignant neoplasms and 40 patients with non-malignant lesions. The most common malignant tumor was nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and the most common benign lesion was angiofibroma. Survival analysis was performed for the 83 patients who had malignant neoplasms, and survival was found to be 94.5 ± 4.32 months. There were significant differences in survival based on the stage of the disease, histological type, and the type of treatment (p = 0.001, 0.02, and 0.003, respectively).

Conclusion

In our institutional study, malignant tumors were more common than benign lesions. Patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma presented relatively late and at an advanced stage. Regular follow-up is necessary for early detection, recurrence, or metastases of malignant tumors.

The comparison of the pathological data of oropharyngeal masses between HIV and non-HIV patients

CONCLUSION

Although this study did not show higher risk of oropharyngeal malignancy in HIV patients overall, they still had much higher prevalence of NHL as well as HL than HIV negative patients. Presence of cervical lymphadenopathy is unreliable in differentiating malignant oropharyngeal tumours from benign lymphoid hyperplasia in HIV patients.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to compare the histology of oropharyngeal masses between HIV positive and negative patients.

METHODS

A retrospective review of 119 patients who underwent oropharyngeal biopsies in a tertiary institution between 2007-2014 and whose HIV status was known (HIV positives =47; negatives =72).

RESULTS

Malignancies occurred in 63.8% of HIV patients and 65% of the negative group (p = 0.87). While non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) constituted 40%, 27%, and 17% of malignancies in HIV patients, respectively; in the HIV-negative group, it was 53%, 13%, and 2% for SCC, NHL, and HL, respectively (p = 0.039, 0.017, and 0.035, respectively). Reactive lymphoid proliferation accounted for 82.4% of the benign masses in the HIV positive group. Malignant tumours were recorded more in younger patient in the HIV positive than the negative group (p = 0.001).