Childhood vascular tumours in Zaria, Nigeria

Vascular neoplasms are commonly seen in early childhood and are considered by some as harmatomas. We studied 58 vascular tumours in children aged 16 years and below from the files of Pathology department of the Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, Zaria seen over a ten year period (1984-1995). The histological slides were reviewed and the cases classified according to WHO criteria into benign tumours--Hemangiomas and lymphangiomas; and malignant tumours--hemangiopericytomas, angiosarcomas and Kaposi's sarcoma(KS). Additional information about age and sex were retrieved from the patients' request card and folder. Four patients with malignant tumours had had tests for HIV antibodies. The 58 tumours in the study form 3.2% of all tumours seen in the Department over the study period. There were 52 benign and 6 malignant tumours. The benign group was made up of 44 hemangiomas and 8 lymphangiomas, with a male to female ratio of 1.1:1, and an age range of 4 days to 16 years with a mean of 6.3 years. The malignant group comprised 4 KS all in the lymphnode and 2 hemangiopericytomas on the chest wall and scalp respectively, with a male to female ratio of 2:1 and an age range of 4 to 12 years with a mean of 6.8 years. All the four children with malignant tumours who had HIV antibodies test were negative. It is concluded that hemangiomas in Zaria are relatively common and they share similar characteristics with those seen elsewhere. There does not seem to be a relationship between malignant vascular tumours in children and AIDS infection.