Description:
BACKGROUND: The current global strategy of schistosomiasis control is to reduce morbidity by decreasing worm burden and intensity of infection. Recurrent Schistosomiasis infection has been strongly implicated as the main culprit behind urinary bladder cancer. Urinary bladder cancer is a preventable disease. Efforts to combat schistosomiasis in Tanzania have been in play for over 10 years. Still the United Republic of Tanzania ranks as the second country that has the highest burden of schistosomiasis in SSA with an estimated 72% prevalence of SCC in high endemic areas. This study attempts to quantify urinary bladder cancer attributed to schistosomiasis among hospital admissions at KCMC. Such quantification gives an indication of whether or not progress has been made at combating schistosomiasis and associated urinary bladder cancer.
OBJECTIVE: To quantify Schistosomiasis-associated urinary bladder cancer among KCMC hospital admissions, from 2005-2015 at KCMC.
METHODOLOGY: This was a hospital based descriptive retrospective cross sectional study conducted at KCMC. Data was gathered from medical records for patients who had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the urinary bladder from 2005-2015. Patients’ files with a positive biopsy of squamous cell carcinoma and eggs of S. hematobium present in both the biopsy and their urine were included in the study. Data was entered in Excel and analyzed in SPSS.
RESULTS: A total of 230 patients’ files were enrolled and reviewed in this study, 77% were male. The mean age of patients at time of admission was 56 years, with 52.2% of them coming from Kilimanjaro and 82% of patients were farmers. The prevalence of SCC was 27.14%, which represented urinary bladder cancer (UBC) cases attributed to S. hematobium. Transitional cell carcinoma was the leading variant (39%) while other variants accounted for 34% of UBC at KCMC. Majority of those who were staged (16.75%) presented with UBC at grade 3 followed with 9.38% who presented with stage 4.
CONCLUSION: Prevalence of UBC attributed to S. hematobium among hospital admissions at KCMC was higher in males than females and prevalent in middle and older aged than the young
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patients. Most patients came from Kilimanjaro and were farmers. At the time of admission the patients presented with UBC at its advanced stage.