Prognosis in poorly differentiated carcinoma of the prostate in Nigerians

Abstract

A study of 47 Nigerian patients with prostatic carcinoma at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital revealed that 17(36.17%) had poorly differentiated carcinoma, Gleasons Grade VI. Fourteen patients (28.79%) had moderately differentiated carcinoma, Gleasons Grade III, while two other patients (4.25%) had well differentiated glands but with more atypia and less well circumscribed boundaries, Gleasons Grade II. The last twelve patients (25.53%) had very well differentiated carcinoma Gleasons Grade I. Nine of the eleven patients (81.81%) who died during the study period had poorly differentiated and undifferentiated prostatic carcinoma, Gleasons Grade V. The other two deaths were from moderately differentiated tumours, Gleasons Grade II and I. These findings show poor prognosis for poorly differentiated and undifferentiated carcinoma of the prostrate in Nigerian Africans similar to previous reports in Caucasians by other authors (6,7,6,11).