Histopathological Prevalence of Genito-urinary Cancer in Rural Areas: Five Years Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background: Cancer is a public health problem in both developed and developing countries. It is among of the delayed diagnosis cancer due to asymptomatic characteristics and lack of screening behavior in low- and middle-income societies. The aim of this study was to determine the histopathologic epidemiological profile of urologic cancers in rural referral Hospital in Mororgoro Tanzania. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted involving histopathological hospital data from January 2020 to December 2024. Results: Total of urologic 88 histology samples were collected during the period. Out of these 62.5% were malignant. The majority of the patients were male 79. 5% and female were 20.5% resulting into M: F; 3.8:1. Patients over 60 years old comprised 62.5% of all cases. The most affected organs were prostate 44.32% and urinary bladder 36.36%. Adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) were the most frequently diagnosed malignancies accounting for 28.4% % and 13.6% cases respectively. Among those with urinary bladder SCC, 4.5% had coexisting Schistosomiasis. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed significant associations with malignancy for the following: Age above 60 years (AOR = 4.363; 95% CI: 2.544–6.181; p = 0.000), Male sex (AOR = 1.186; 95% CI: 1.761–2.610; p = 0.001), Female sex (AOR = 1.259; 95% CI: 0.682–1.836; p = 0.000), Bladder cancer (AOR = 5.966; 95% CI: 4.178–7.753; p = 0.012) Malignancies from other urologic structures (AOR = 3.063; 95% CI: 0.506–5.620; p = 0.020). Conversely, some variables were not statistically significant in multivariate analysis, including: Age below 60 years (AOR = 0.463; 95% CI: 0.872–1.797; p = 0.490) Prostate cancer (AOR = 4.503; 95% CI: 2.430–6.575; p = 0.461). Conclusion: Since Urologic cancer is one of the non-communicable diseases in Tanzania and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs); screening should be prioritized along with strengthening early detection and capacity building among clinicians, especially those working in primary health settings, to improve the rate of early diagnosis.