Precancerous and cancerous lesions of the cervix at the Buea regional hospital- Cameroon

The ectocervix is the part of the uterus which plunges into the apex of the vagina. A stratified squamous epithelium covers it. The endocervical canal, which establishes communication between the vagina and the endometrial cavity, is paved with a mucous secreting glandular epithelium. Because of the acidity of the vagina, these two epithelia undergo metaplasia. Some oncogenic factors do ignite instead of dysplasia. CIN1, CIN2, and CIN3 correspond to the premalignant transformation of 1/3, 2/3 and 3/3 of these epithelia from the basal membrane. Invasive Cancer is when the latter is broken, and there is a penetration of the stroma by the malignant cells.

Methodology: A retrospective hospital-based study was conducted to establish the prevalence of various cervical malignancies at the Buea regional hospital. The registry of the pathology department was used. The study spanned from the 8th of March 2017 to the 16th of March 2021.

Results: The different cervical cancer types found were squamous cell carcinoma, small cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and non-Hodgkin cervical cancer or lymphoma of the cervix. Their respective percentages were 73%, 20.7%, 5.4% and 0.9%.

Conclusion: Four different types of cancers were found in this study. Their prevalence was for squamous cell carcinoma (73%), small cell carcinoma (20.7%), adenocarcinoma (5.4%), and non-Hodgkin carcinoma of the cervix (0.9%).