TUMOURS OF THE EYE AND OCULAR ADNEXA IN KANO: A RETROSPECTIVE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL REVIEW (1999 – 2007)

Abstract

This nine year retrospective histopathological review was carried out to determine the pattern, frequency, age and sex distribution of ophthalmic tumours received in the Histopathology department of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH), Kano from 1st January, 1999 to 31st December, 2007. A total of 491 biopsies of orbito-ocular lesions were received during this period and of these 276 (56.2%) were neoplasms. The majority of these neoplasms (77.5%) were malignant. One hundred and fifty (54.3%) of these tumours were from male patients giving a male to female ratio of 1.2: 1.

The age range for the benign tumours was seven months to ninety seven years with a mean age of 30 years. The most common benign ophthalmic tumour was squamous papilloma followed closely by capillary haemangioma. The malignant tumours showed bimodal peak incidence. The first peak was in the first decade of life (less than five years) mainly due to the Retinoblastoma, a paediatric intraocular malignancy while the second occurred in the third to fifth decade of life mainly due to squamous cell carcinoma, an adult surface ocular epithelial malignancy.

TUMOURS OF THE EYE AND OCULAR ADNEXA IN KANO: A RETROSPECTIVE HISTOPATHOLOGICAL REVIEW (1999 – 2007)