The Relationship between Age and Histological Types of Cervical Cancer

Aim: To determine the relationship between age and histological types of cervical cancer in Calabar, Nigeria. Methodology: The study design is a prevalence study on archival specimens. The cervical cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 were identified. Basic information (age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis and original histopathological diagnosis) was collected from medical records. The sample size for this study consists of all histological samples of cervical cancer seen in the Department of Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar between 1 of January 2005 to 31 December 2013. The data obtained were analyzed. Results: A total of two hundred and forty-five (245) female subjects from 31 to 77 years were studied. The mean age of the subjects was 49 ± 5. Majority 160 (65.3%) of the subjects were aged below 51 years and those aged above 70 years has the highest prevalence 5 (2.5%). Subjects aged below 49 years are more likely to have keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma followed by basaloid squamous cell carcinoma histological type. The peak age of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma is 41 – 50 years age. The peak age of keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma and non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 41-50 years. The age group with the second highest frequency for keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 61 -70 years and that for non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 31-40 years. The peak age of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma is 31-40 years, followed by the >70 years age group. Conclusion: Cervical cancer is common in women that are less than 50 years of age making young women a huge target at the most productive time of their life. Therefore cervical cancer in addition to being a health problem has turned out to be a big economic problem in our society.