Characterization of Primary and Secondary Liver Tumours Diagnosed at the University Teaching Hospitals in Lusaka, Zambia

Abstract

The incidence and prevalence of liver tumours has increased globally over the past decades. This increase in liver tumours has led to an increase in morbidity and mortality. Phenotypic characterisation of liver tumours is important as it helps in planning for targeted management of diagnosed liver tumours. The aim of this study was to investigate the phenotypic distribution of primary and secondary liver tumours diagnosed at the University Teaching Hospitals in Lusaka, Zambia. Materials/Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that was conducted on 34 formalin-fixed paraffin embeddedliver tissue blocks at the University Teaching Hospitals. These archived liver tissues were isolated from 2012 to 2015. Tissues were cut for histological analysis using a microtome. Haematoxylin and Eosin staining were done on the slides to confirm hepatic tumour status. Data was analysed using Statistical Package Social Sciences version 20.0. Fisher's exact test was used to determine the association between variables. Statistical significance was conducted at 95% confidence interval with a p<0.05that indicate statistical significance. Results:From the examined 34 cases, the patient age distribution of liver tumours was as follows; <10 years (8.8%), 10-20 years (8.8%), 21-30 years (20.6%), 31-40 years (14.7%), 41-50 years (14.7%), 51-60 years (17.6%), 61-70 years (11.8%), and >70 years (2.9%). Liver tumours affect more males 19/34 (55.88%) than females 15/34 (44.12%). The male to female ratio of patients diagnosed with liver tumours was found to be 1.3:1 and p=0.03. The histological phenotypes of liver tumours recorded in this study included 17/34 (50%) hepatocellular carcinomas, 6/34 (17.6%) metastatic adenocarcinomas, 4/34 (11.8%) intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas, 3/34 (8.8%) hepatoblastomas, 2/34 (5.9%) metastatic small cell carcinomas, and 2/34 (5.9 %) hepatic adenomas. There was a statistical significance between primary and secondary liver tumours as was evidenced by a p=0.04. Conclusion: Liver tumours affect patients mostly in the age group of 21-30 years. The study further reported that liver tumours affect more males than females. Furthermore, hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary liver tumouristhe most common histologically diagnosed liver tumour at the University Teaching Hospitals followed by metastatic adenocarcinomas.