International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2016): 79.57 | Impact Factor (2015): 6.391 Volume 7 Issue 2, February 2018 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY The Relationship between Age and Histological Types of Cervical Cancer Godstime I. Irabor, 1 Edoise M. Isiwele, 2 Martin A. Nnoli, 3 Kenneth A. Omoruyi. 3 1 Department of Pathology, Saba University School of Medicine, Saba, Netherland 2 Department of Surgery, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria 3 Department of Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar, Nigeria Abstract: Aim : To determine the relationship between age and histological types of cervical cancer in Calabar, Nigeria. Methodology : The study design is a prevalence study on archival specimens. The cervical cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 were identified. Basic information (age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis and original histopathological diagnosis) was collected from medical records. The sample size for this study consists of all histological samples of cervical cancer seen in the Department of Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Calabar between 1 st of January 2005 to 31 st December 2013. The data obtained were analyzed. Results : A total of two hundred and forty-five (245) female subjects from 31 to 77 years were studied. The mean age of the subjects was 49 ± 5. Majority 160 (65.3%) of the subjects were aged below 51 years and those aged above 70 years has the highest prevalence 5 (2.5%). Subjects aged below 49 years are more likely to have keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma followed by basaloid squamous cell carcinoma histological type. The peak age of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma is 41 – 50 years age. The peak age of keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma and non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 41-50 years. The age group with the second highest frequency for keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 61 -70 years and that for non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma is 31-40 years. The peak age of basaloid squamous cell carcinoma is 31-40 years, followed by the >70 years age group. Conclusion : Cervical cancer is common in women that are less than 50 years of age making young women a huge target at the most productive time of their life. Therefore cervical cancer in addition to being a health problem has turned out to be a big economic problem in our society. Keywords: Cervical, Cancer, Age, Histological, Squamous cell 1.Introduction There are over 300,000 deaths of women yearly from cervical cancer. Most of them in the productive age of their life. This disease is a major cause both economic and health problems in our society. The most common histological type of cervical cancer is the squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma. The squamous cell carcinoma has various types including the keratinizing, non-keratinizing and basaloid types. The aetiological agent responsible for the development of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV) which infect immature squamous epithelial cells at the squamocolumnar junction. Ninety percent of those females infected by HPV are cleared of the infection within two years. 1 Persistent infection results in koilocytic atypia in the cervical epithelium. 2, 9 At this stage, a squamous intraepithelial lesion is said to have developed and this could be detected with regular Papanicolaou smear screening. When squamous intraepithelial lesion (high grade or low grade) is diagnosed, it is treated accordingly thus preventing the progression into invasive cervical cancer. This has been mostly responsible for the reduction in the incidence of cervical cancer in developed countries. 2, 3 Eighty percent (80%) of low grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL) and all of the high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL) are associated with high-risk HPV infections. 1 About 40% of those with high-risk HPV infection would develop HSIL and of these, 10% would progress to invasive cervical carcinoma within a period of 10 years. 1 Globally, cancer-related morbidity and mortality contribute significantly to the burden of disease borne by women in their reproductive ages, who play key roles in building strong families and nations. 1,4 This is especially so for cervical cancer, that is highly prevalent in developing countries, which bear over three-quarters of the global disease burden, with an annual estimate of over half a million cases. 4,5 For instance, Nigeria with an incidence rate ranging from 30.4 to 36 per 100,000 women, has one of the highest rates in the sub-Saharan African region, and the world. 6,7 Also, infection with HPV which is the key aetiologic factor, is present in at least one in every five women in Nigeria, representing one of the highest prevalent rates globally. 8,9 There are several of Cervical carcinoma prevention and control programme which include - HPV vaccination, cytological screening and management of Pap smear abnormalities, surgical removal of precancerous lesions, cryotherapy for precancerous lesions, laser ablation therapy for precancerous lesions and hysterectomy. 2.Materials and Method The study design is a prevalence study on archival specimens. The cervical cancer cases diagnosed between 2005 and 2013 were identified. Basic information (age at diagnosis, year of diagnosis and original histopathological diagnosis) was collected from medical records. The sample size for this study consist of all histological samples of cervical cancer seen in the Department of Paper ID: ART20179874 DOI: 10.21275/ART20179874 260