Peripheral lymphadenopathy in Nigeria

Area of Science:

• Pathology
• Oncology
• Infectious Diseases

Background:

• Peripheral lymphadenopathy is a common clinical finding.
• Distinguishing between inflammatory and malignant causes is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the spectrum of diseases causing enlarged peripheral lymph nodes in Ife, Nigeria.
• To determine the relative frequencies of inflammatory and malignant conditions affecting lymph nodes.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 294 enlarged peripheral lymph node biopsies.
• Classification of lesions into reactive hyperplasia, metastatic cancer, malignant lymphoma, tuberculosis, and toxoplasmosis.

Main Results:

• Chronic inflammation (51.7%) and malignant diseases (48.3%) were equally prevalent.
• Reactive hyperplasia (29.3%) and metastatic cancer (24.5%) were the most frequent diagnoses.
• The neck was the most common site for tuberculosis and malignancies; the axilla for breast cancer metastases; and inguinal nodes for melanoma and reactive hyperplasia.

Conclusions:

• Lymph node malignancies and chronic granulomatous infections pose significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges in Nigeria.
• Physicians should include toxoplasmosis in the differential diagnosis of peripheral lymphadenopathy.
• Bare-foot walking may contribute to reactive hyperplasia in inguinal lymph nodes due to repeated trauma and infection.