Clinical Characteristics and Outcome of Management of Ovarian Cancer in a Tertiary Hospital

Abstract

Objective: Cancers are currently adjudged as a hindrance to achieving a desirable life expectancy in most countries. The high mortality rate from ovarian cancer is a result of the pathology not having specific symptoms, late presentation, and lack of proper screening that results in its diagnosis in the advanced stages. The study aimed to determine the prevalence, clinical presentation, and outcome after the management of patients with ovarian cancer seen in the tertiary institution. Methodology: It was a retrospective study. Relevant information was extracted from the case files of the patients with histologically confirmed ovarian cancer. The data obtained were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical software, version 23. Results: Thirty-two cases of ovarian cancer were admitted during the period under review. This constituted 21.0% of gynaecological malignancies managed in the hospital during the study. The mean age of the ovarian cancer patients was 50.94±12.01 years with 56.25% of the patients being postmenopausal. The majority of the patients (62.4%) have 3 or more parous experiences with 53.1% of the patients presenting with advanced disease. Epithelial ovarian cancer was the most common histological variant. The treatment modality was surgery and chemotherapy. However, 65.7% of patients defaulted from initiating or completing chemotherapy. Conclusion: The study revealed that patients presented in the late stage of the disease and a bulk of them did not complete the treatment. There is a need to lobby Governments to subsidize cancer treatment, especially in the area of chemotherapy treatment.

Keywords

• Epithelial
• Histological pattern
• Ovarian cancer
• Prevalence