Morphological pattern of paediatric tumours in Warri, Southern Nigeria

Tumours are emerging as an important cause of mortality in the paediatric age group. However, childhood tumour patterns in Warri, Nigeria are not known. This study aims at documenting the morphological patterns of these tumours as seen at Central Hospital Warri. Materials and Methods: The study was 7-year retrospective analysis of all histologically diagnosed tumours in children age 0-16 years seen at the Department of pathology, Central Hospital Warri, Nigeria. Results: Seventy-five tumours comprising of 60 benign and 15 malignant tumours were diagnosed histologically during the study period. The ratio of benign to malignant tumours was 4:1. The Male to Female ratio for benign tumours was 1:4.5 while the male to female ratio for malignant tumours was 4:1. The mean age for benign and malignant tumour was 13 years (3.6SD) and 11 years (4.8SD) respectively. Breast tumours accounted for (48.3%) of all benign childhood tumours. Lymphomas and osteosarcoma constitute 26.6% and 20% of all malignant childhood tumours respectively. Conclusion: Benign tumours are more common in the paediatric age group. The most common benign tumours are breast tumours with fibroadenoma constituting the vast majority while lymphoma is the most common paediatric malignant tumour.