When compared with other cases reported in literature, this particular presentation should be recognized, if required, morphologic and functional criteria are used. The treatment is mostly surgical, driven by the medullary component. The presence of micrometastasis in 1 ipsilateral cervical lymph-node underlines the importance of cervicomediastinal lymph-node dissection and careful searching for metastatic disease.

BackgroundWhile the effect of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) on natural history of cervical lesions remains controversial, resource limited countries need to understand the relevance of their own data to their settings. We compared the risk of cervical disease in HAART-experienced women with that in women in the general population of Cameroon.MethodsA retrospective cross sectional survey of women aged 35 years and above, attending a voluntary screening campaign for cervical cancer at the Nkongsamba Regional Hospital in Cameroon between February and May 2014. Squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL) were determined by Pap smear. Multiple logistic regression was used to compare the odds of SIL in women on HAART to women from the community with unknown HIV status.ResultsIncluded were 302 women of whom 131(43.4%) were HIV-infected and receiving HAART on the site while 171 (56.6%) were women from the community. Cervical disease was observed in 51(16.9%) persons of whom 15 (11.5%) cases in the HAART group and 36 (21.1%) cases in the general group (p = 0.027). After controlling for age and other covariates, women in the HAART group had a 67% reduction in the odds of cervical lesions compared with the community group [adjusted odd ratio (aOR) = 0.33, 95%CI: 0.15–0.73, p = 0.006).ConclusionHIV-infected women receiving HAART have a lower risk of cancer than women in the general population. This finding may not be attributed to HAART alone but to all the health benefits derived from receiving a comprehensive HIV care.

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Background: Breast cancer, the deadliest cancer in women worldwide, is often diagnosed at late stage in Cameroon, with high mortality and dire socioeconomic consequences. We investigated the reasons for breast cancer late diagnosis in Cameroon. Methods: Women (412) were randomly recruited in various locations in the city of Bafoussam, West Region, Cameroon. They self-administered a questionnaire assessing breast cancer awareness. Then, they underwent breast palpation, followed by fine needle aspiration (FNA) when a nodule was found. Results: 65% of the study participants were above 30 years; 80.9% had at least a secondary education; 94.4% had heard about breast cancer and the main source of information was the media (57.3%). Most participants were either uninformed or ill-informed (up to 72%) about breast cancer risk factors, signs, and screening methods, in particular breast self-examination (BSE). Of the 17 women with nodules and other suspect signs, only 6 accepted fine needle aspiration (FNA). Three of the 6 had malignant nodules indicative of Invasive ductal carcinoma low grade (one case) and high grade (2 cases).Conclusions: Women living in Bafoussam are poorly aware of breast cancer screening methods, in particular BSE, and of the importance of early detection. BSE followed by FNA in women with nodules is a simple, yet good screening method to improve early detection and reduce the burden of breast cancer.