Sarcoma of the head and neck at Kenyatta National Hospital

Abstract

Objective: To determine the pattern of occurrence of sarcomas afflicting the neck and craniofacial region. Design: A retrospective study (1982-1991).

An 8-year Pattern of Orofacial Sarcoma from the National Referral Hospital in United Republic of Tanzania

“…25 Osteosarcoma was the most frequently diagnosed HTS, and this is consistent with data from other parts of Africa. 10,18,20 Our study found no sex preference, with M:F of 1:1 in contrary to the findings of Guevara-Canales et al 12 and Kamau et al 18 that…”

“…19,30 Fibrosarcoma is a malignant tumor whose occurrence in the head and neck is rare, accounting for less than 5% of fibrosarcomas of all sites. 20 In this series, the incidence of fibrosarcomas was 4.5%, with a mean age of occurrence being 40.7 years, having slightest higher prevalence among male patients. Some studies from different parts of the world show similar male predominance, 12,20 others report of equal predilection, 13,19 while Kamau et al 18 found a higher prevalence in females.…”

“…On the contrary, Alishahi et al, 13 Adebayo et al, 19 and Chindia et al 20 reported male predominance. The difference between male and female reported in these studies is, however, marginal; the mean age of occurrence of osteosarcoma in this series was concurrent with most reports from different literature; 12,13,18,26 however, it did not coincide with the mean age reported by Adebayo et al 19 Rhabdomyosarcoma, a malignancy of primitive muscle, predominates in pediatric patients in the first decade of life, making it the most common maxillofacial sarcoma in childhood but can be seen at any age.…”

“…17 It was ascertained in this study that the overall mean age for occurrence of sarcomas was 33 ± 16 years, with 74% (n = 114) of the patients being aged 40 years and 42 years in a study from Japan, and in an Iranian study, the mean age of 41 years was reported by Alishahi et al 13 In Africa, KS has been described as one of the most common malignant tumors, being prevalent in countries with higher human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome prevalence. 18 In a Kenyan study done by Chindia et al, 20 KS was the most prevalent sarcoma, while Kamau et al 18 reported it to be the second most common sarcoma, while in another study from Kenya, the mean age of occurrence was 36.6 years and with no sex predilection. The mean age of 34.7 years with male predominance was reported by Lager et al 21 Male KS predominance has also been reported in other studies.…”

“…We found female predominance over male counterparts; similar results were also found in the literature, 12,13 but this was in contrast to other studies that reported higher prevalence in males. 1,12,19,20 As is evident, many literature reports early age of onset of rhabdomyosarcoma and a strong male predominance. However, this male predominance was more pronounced in embryonal subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma, while there were no sex differences in alveolar subtype incidence.…”