Pattern of Haematological Malignancies in A Tertiary Hospital in Yola, Nigeria: A Three Year Retrospective Review

Abstract

Background: Haematological malignancies (HMs) are primary neoplasms of the blood and blood-forming organs, such as the bone marrow and lymphoid tissues. There is a paucity of information on the pattern of HMs in the North-East part of Nigeria. Objective: To determine the current pattern of various HMs encountered in Yola, and compare it with previous reports from other parts of Nigeria and worldwide. Methodology: A retrospective review of all cases of HMs that were referred to, diagnosed and managed at the Haematology and Blood Transfusion Department of Federal Medical Centre, Yola from 1st January 2018 to 31st December 2020 was carried out. Results: A total of 90 cases of HMs were attended to within the period under review comprising 53 (58.9%) males and 37 (41.1%) females; aged between 3 and 82 years with median age of 38 years. There were 53 (58.9%) cases of leukaemia, 31 (34.4%) of lymphoma and 6 (6.7%) of multiple myeloma. The commonest leukaemia was chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) constituting 23.3% of all cases, followed by acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) accounting for 14.4% and 12.2% of all cases, respectively. Among lymphoma cases, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) was more frequently occurring accounting for 27.8% of all cases. Conclusion: This study has revealed the pattern of HMs in our setting and could serve as a database for future health policy planning and implementation as well as further epidemiologic studies on HMs. It is concluded that leukaemia was the commonest haematological malignancy.