Clinical Characteristics and Survival of Patients with Malignant Ovarian Tumors in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Histopathologic Patterns of Ovarian Tumors in Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Southern Ethiopia

Objective

In Ethiopia, there is no national-level cancer registry except capital Addis Ababa, and little research was performed on ovarian tumors. This study is aimed at assessing different histopathologic patterns of ovarian tumors and their distribution based on age, biological behavior, and gross findings at a tertiary-level hospital in Ethiopia.

Methods

In this study, 187 biopsy-confirmed ovarian tumors from September 2017 to August 2021 were included. All data were collected from the pathology department report format, classified according to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) classification system, and analyzed using SPSS 20.0 and Microsoft Excel 2010 at Hawassa University Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Hawassa, Ethiopia.

Results

A total of 187 women with ovarian tumors were included in this study. Of these, 143 (76.5%) were benign, 35 (18.7%) were malignant, and 9 (4.8%) were borderline tumors. Both benign and borderline tumors mostly occur at the age of 20-39 years. Surface epithelial tumors were the most common histopathologic pattern at 57.8% followed by germ cell tumors at 29.4% and sex cord-stromal tumors at 11.7%. Mature cystic teratomas were the most common benign ovarian tumors accounting for 37.8% of them, while serous cystadenocarcinomas were the most common malignant ovarian tumors accounting for 31.4% of malignant neoplasms.

Conclusion

In the current study, surface epithelial tumors were the most common ovarian tumors followed by germ cell tumors. Younger age at presentation was observed for malignant ovarian tumors.

Trends in the incidence of ovarian cancer in sub-Saharan Africa

Ovarian cancer (OC) is one of the commonest cancers of women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), although to date no data have been available on time trends in incidence to better understand the disease pattern in the region. We estimate time trends by histological subtype from 12 population-based cancer registries in 11 countries: Kenya (Nairobi), Mauritius, Seychelles, Uganda (Kampala), Congo (Brazzaville), Zimbabwe (Bulawayo and Harare), Cote d'Ivoire (Abidjan), The Gambia, Mali (Bamako), Nigeria (Ibadan) and South Africa (Eastern Cape). The selected registries were those that could provide consistent estimates of the incidence of ovarian cancer and with quality assessment for periods of 10 or more years. A total of 5423 cases of OC were included. Incidence rates have been increasing in all registries except Brazzaville, Congo, where a nonsignificant decline of 1% per year was seen. Statistically significant average annual increases were seen in Mauritius (2.5%), Bamako (5.3%), Ibadan (3.9%) and Eastern Cape (8%). Epithelial ovarian cancer was responsible for the increases observed in all registries. Statistically significant average annual percentage changes (AAPC) for epithelial OC were present in Bamako (AAPC = 5.9%), Ibadan (AAPC = 4.7%) and Eastern Cape (AAPC = 11.0%). Creating awareness among professionals of the growing importance of the disease is surely an important step to improving availability of, and access to, diagnosis and treatment of OC in SSA. Support must be given to the cancer registries to improve the availability of good-quality data on this important cancer.

Antiproliferative Effects of Alkaloids from the Bulbs of Crinum abyscinicum Hochst. ExA. Rich

Crinum abyscinicum Hochst. ExA. Rich bulb is traditionally used in Ethiopia for the treatment of various ailments including internal parasites, mastitis, rabies, colic diseases of animals, and cancer. Despite its importance in traditional cancer treatment, no research work has been reported on the antiproliferative activity of the bulb extract and its major constituents. Phytochemical investigation of the bulb extract of C. abyscinicum by PTLC over silica gel resulted in the isolation of two alkaloids, which were unequivocally identified as 6-hydroxycrinamine and lycorine on the basis of ¹H- and ¹³C-NMR and MS analysis. The bulb extract, 6-hydroxycrinamine, and lycorine possessed significant antiproliferative activity, lycorine being the most active exhibiting GI₅₀ values of 2.8 μg/ml and 3.4 μg/ml against A2780 and MV4-11 cells, respectively. Cell cycle analysis and annexin V/propidium iodide double staining in A2780 cells revealed that both compounds increased the percentage of cells in the S-phase at 30 μg/ml without inducing apoptosis. Our results suggest that the antiproliferative activities of the bulb extract of C. abyscinicum, 6-hydroxycrinamine, and lycorine could support the traditional claim of the plant against cancer.