Pattern of biliary tract carcinoma at the University College Hospital, Ibadan

Biliary tract carcinomas are uncommon but highly fatal malignancies. Most patients in our environment are diagnosed late and are not candidates for curative resection.

To determine the pattern and risk factors of biliary tract carcinoma in Ibadan.

This was a retrospective study of histologically confirmed cases of biliary tract carcinoma diagnosed at the University College Hospital, Ibadan between January 1971 and December 20 10. Data was obtained from the records of the Ibadan Cancer Registry, surgical day books and post-mortem records of the Department of Pathology. Histological classification based on the 2010 'WHO classification for tumours of the intrahepatic bile duct, gallbladder and extrahepatic bile duct' was done.

There were 37 cases of biliary tract carcinoma accounting for 0.18% of cancers seen during the period of study. These comprised of 26 (70.3%) females and 11 (29.7%) males. 20 females and 4 males had gallbladder carcinoma, while 6 females and 7 males had cholangiocarcinoma (P = 0.02). The age range was from 37 years to 75 years (mean = 52.5 ± 9.7 years). The peak occurrences of gallbladder carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma were in the fifth and sixth decades of life respectively. The identified risk factors included female gender (83%), gallstones (33%), and dysplasia (42%).

The findings in this study agree with what has been described in the English literature in respect of gender distribution, histological types and some associated risk factors as well as in the fact of its being rare.