Does histopathological examination still have value in detecting and preventing cancer?

Abstract

Introduction: Cancer is a very dangerous disease causing a high mortality rate every year. The prevention or reduction of malignant disease required early detection, mainly depending on histological examination as the first step in the diagnosis.

Methods: This study was designed to gauge the value of the numbers of histological specimen as an indicator for the level of education to prevent cancer development. Histological specimens of 14670 suspected cases of cancer diseases were histopathologically examined during seven years.

Findings: Histopathological examination revealed that 960 patients had a positive result of 38 cancer types, while 13710 patients were clear of any type of cancer. More specimens were received from females, especially in 2014 and the most important organs for diagnosis of cancer, included the gastrointestinal tract (gastro-esophagus, gallbladder, and appendix), skin, lymphoid, and breast.

Discussion: Increase the education level about the importance of histopathological examination of any suspected specimens is considered the first step in preventing and controlling the distribution of cancer disease. Some cancer types should receive greater attention in the diagnosis by increased use of the histopathological laboratories.