Abstract

Background: Primary malignant bone tumour is the third leading cause of death among young people, after leukaemia and central nervous system tumours. It has been documented to have global incidence with two peaks at 10-20 years, and 40-80 years, highest prevalence in South America and a 1.5 times male preponderance. There are global variations in the incidence of bone tumours. The aim of this study was to describe the bone tumours Teaching Hospitals in Port Harcourt in the last ten years, from January 2010 to January 2020, with reference to age, sex, and type of tumours. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional descriptive study was done among patients seen and diagnosed with bone tumors using hospital registers, and data was formed into tables. Results: Bone tumors were more prevalent among the age range 10 and 59 years. One hundred and forty-three patients with bone tumors were admitted into the wards of both teaching hospitals. There were 31 (21.7%) cases of osteosarcoma, 25 (17.5%) patients with giant cell tumor of bone, and 25 (17.5%) cases of osteoma. There were 17 (11.9%) metastatic bone tumours in the ward admission records. Eighty-one patients were operated, and there were 26 cases of osteosarcoma (32.1% of operated cases), 15 osteomas (18.5% of operated cases), and 13 giant cell bone tumours (16% of operated cases). Conclusion: The bone tumours prevalent in our practice were osteosarcoma, osteochondroma, giant cell bone tumours, osteoma, chondroma, chondrosarcoma, and metastatic bone tumors, out of which osteosarcoma was the most common.