Benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate carcinoma in native Africans

To study the factors associated with morbidity and mortality in benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and carcinoma of the prostate in native Africans.

A prospective study was conducted from 1993 to 1998 at the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospitals, Zaria, Nigeria. During this 5-year period 686 patients were investigated and treated for symptoms and signs of prostatism. They were followed up for a mean (range) of 19.5 (1-60) months.

BPH was found in 588 and clinical carcinoma in 98 patients. Adequate results, including a histological diagnosis, were available for 640 patients; there were 545 patients with BPH and 95 patients with histologically diagnosed prostate cancer. Treatment consisted of open prostatectomy for BPH, and subcapsular orchidectomy and/or open bladder-neck wedge resection for patients with prostate cancer and bladder neck obstruction. Within 6 months of surgery, four of 545 (0.7%) patients with BPH and 25 of 95 (26. 3%) with prostate cancer had died. Two-thirds of the patients with cancer presented with paraparesis or paraplegia.

BPH and prostate cancer cause significant morbidity and mortality in African men. There is a need for health education about the early recognition of symptoms. Provision of facilities for transurethral prostatectomy would minimize the complications of surgery and ensure better use of the meagre resources available for health care.