Presentation, Characteristics and Co-morbidities of Men with Prostate Cancer in Nigeria

Aims: To determine the presentation, characteristics and associated co-morbidities in Nigerian men with prostate cancer.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried at the Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, Jos University Teaching Hospital, Jos, Nigeria from January 2010 to December 2018.

Methodology: Men with histologically confirmed prostate cancer were analyzed. The age of the men, PSA pattern, histologic type, Gleason score, stage of the disease, associated co-morbidities and treatment received by the men were recorded. The effect of co-morbidities on disease aggressiveness using Gleason score and PSA as determinants was determined using Pearson correlation. SPSS version 23 was used in analyzing the data. P-value of < 0.05 was considered significant.

Results: Eighty-one patients with prostate cancer from 2010 to 2018 were involved in the study. The mean age was 67.58±9.42 years with a range of 42 to 96years. Men with PSA >100 ng/ml had the highest frequency (34.60%). The mean Gleason Score was 6.28±2.13. Gleason score 7-8 had the highest frequency (35.8%). Seventy-nine patients (97.5%) had adenocarcinoma. Eighty-one percent of the men had advanced Pca, 58% being metastatic disease. 48.1% had co-morbidities, 39.5% had hypertension, while 8.6% had both hypertension and diabetes. Comorbidities showed no correlation with PSA level (r=0.346), (p-value 0.375) and Gleason score (r=0.194), (p-value 0.639). Seventy-nine percent of the men had androgen deprivation therapy.

Conclusion: Most of the men presented with advanced disease, with all indices pointing towards lethal disease. The commonest co-morbidity was hypertension and co-morbidities had no relationship with the aggressiveness of prostate cancer. To ensure early presentation and prevent lethal forms of Pca, health education, screening, counselling for men in the high-risk group is paramount.