The patterns of primary male genitourinary cancers in a tertiary referral hospital in northern Ghana

Abstract

Purpose: There is a lack of published data on male genitourinary cancers (MGUCs) in northern Ghana. We aimed to examine MGUC patterns, the histopathological subtypes, and their clinical presentations to form a basis for further research.

Materials and methods: A review of MGUCs at the Tamale Teaching Hospital (TTH) was conducted from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2021. Data were collected on the age (years), anatomic sites, and clinicopathological characteristics of MGUCs. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23 was used to enter and analyse the data. A double-tailed Fisher’s exact test was used to identify associations between variables, while a p-value of 0.05 or less was regarded as statistically significant.

Results: We found 178 malignant tumours of the male genitourinary tract with a mean age of 60.5 ± 12.4 years. Many (66.9%) were 60 years or older. Cancers of the prostate, urinary bladder, and penis were diagnosed in males older than 40 years. The common cancers by anatomic sites were the prostate gland (66.3%), urinary bladder (25.7%), kidneys (5.1%), and penis (4.5%). The common site-specific presentations were prostate (lower urinary tract symptoms [LUTS], 65.0%), urinary bladder (haematuria, 79.0%), kidney (flank mass, 89.0%), and penis (ulcer, 87.5%). The prevalent histological subtypes were prostatic adenocarcinoma (63.5%) and urinary bladder transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) (9.6%).

Conclusion: MGUCs were commonly diagnosed in males older than 40 years, with the prostate and urinary bladder as the common anatomic sites. The common histopathological subtypes were adenocarcinoma, TCC, and squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). A future prospective study of the management and survival rates of MGUCs is recommended.