Pattern of gynaecological malignancies in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Southeast Nigeria

Background: Gynaecological malignancies are significant cause of morbidity and mortality among women worldwide. Through this study, we seek to contribute to the growing body of evidence that can guide stakeholders, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and public health advocates in implementing context-specific strategies to improve prevention, early detection, and management of gynaecological malignancies in Nigeria and similar settings.

Aim: Evaluation of the pattern of gynaecological malignancies, and the associated sociodemographic characteristics at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Parklane.

Materials and methods: This was a 5-year retrospective cross-sectional study of all histologically confirmed cases of gynaecological malignancies managed at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital Parklane from 1st January 2020 to 31December 2024. The case files were retrieved from the medical record department of the hospital. Relevant information extracted from these folders included age, marital status, parity, type of cancer and tumor site. The data processing and analysis were carried out using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software version 23.0 (Armonk New York: IBM Corp. 2015) and presented in tabular form using frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations.

Results: Cervical cancer is the leading cause of gynaecological malignancy (41%), with the next in frequency of occurrence being Ovarian cancer (28.2%), endometrial cancer (18% ) and leiomyosarcoma the least (0.4%). There is a downward trend in the incidence of cervical cancer and upward trend in the incidence of ovarian and endometrial cancers when compared with previous studies in the same geographical arear.  Conclusion: The persistently higher burden of cervical cancer, despite its recent downward trend, underscores the critical need to sustain and expand preventive measures. Simultaneously, the rising incidence of ovarian and endometrial cancers call for heightened public awareness, promotion of healthy lifestyle to reduce modifiable risk factors and development of effective screening strategies where feasible.