This study was conducted to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and assumption of cervical cancer by women living in Maroua, the capital of the Far North Province of Cameroon. In a 1-month period, 171 women were surveyed as to their socioeconomic status, sexual habits, prior knowledge of cervical cancer, its prevention, and their attitudes toward cervical cancer. Of 171 women, 48 (28%) had prior knowledge of cervical cancer; they were classified as the "aware group" compared with 123 of 171 (72%) women who were uninformed about cervical cancer and they were classified as the "unaware group" (UG). The UG of women tended to be single mothers, illiterate, housewives, and had their first child before the age of 20 (P < 0.005). Despite the awareness of cervical cancer by 28% of women, only a minority of them, 4 of 48 (8.3%), underwent a preventative screening test. Only 71 of 171 (41.5%) women stated that they would be having a screening test in the future. The awareness of cervical cancer by women in Cameroon is still inadequate. Thus, to avoid deaths from cervical cancer, a curable and preventable disease, the need of an aggressive campaign to make Cameroonian women aware of cervical cancer and its prevention is needed.

IntroductionTumors of salivary glands are rare. According to Johns and Goldsmith in 1989, their annual incidence is less than 1/100000 without noteworthy geographical gap. But other authors suggest that their distribution may vary according to the race and geographical location. In Cameroon, existing studies give incomplete data. Hence, we underwent this study in order to draw the general profile of salivary gland tumors in Cameroon.MethodsA retrospective study was carried out on the period spanning from January 2000 to December 2010 (11 years). It was done in nine Pathology services of different hospitals in Yaoundé, Douala and Bamenda. We consulted the archive registers of those services, retaining any patient with salivary gland tumor, whatever the histological type or location. Information gathered was the year of diagnosis, the service, the age and sex, the site of the tumor (gland) the histological type and the benign/ malignant character.ResultsWe recruited a total of 275 files. Women were 56% (154/275) and men 44% (121/275) of the sample. Fifty eight tumors were malignant (21.9%) while 217 were benign (78.1%). The overall mean age was 37.44 years, with extremes between 1 and 84 years. Pleomorphic adenoma (60.36%) was the most common benign tumor. Adenoid cystic carcinoma (31%), mucoepidermoid carcinoma (22.4%) and adenocarcinoma (19%) were the most common malignant tumors. Palate (66.7%), cheek (30%) and lips (3.3%) were the sites were the minor salivary glands were mostly involved.ConclusionThe differences with western world authors suggest a geographical variability of salivary gland tumors.

BackgroundObesity is a rising public health issue worldwide. Guidelines regarding maternal body mass index (BMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) are missing in Cameroon where maternal mortality rate remains very high. We hypothesized that obesity and inappropriate GWG are associated with poor pregnancy outcomes. We aimed at assessing associations of BMI and GWG with pregnancy outcomes.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study at the Yaoundé Central Hospital. We included women with term singleton deliveries in the post-partum ward. The World Health Organisation classification of BMI and the United States Institute Of Medicine (IOM) categories of GWG were used to stratify participants. Poor maternal outcome was defined by the occurence of caesarean section, preeclampsia or obstetrical haemorrhage. Poor perinatal outcome was defined by the occurence of perinatal death, admission in intensive care unit, low birth weight, macrosomia or fifth minute Apgar score <7. Multiple logistic regressions were used to calculate unadjusted and adjusted Odds Ratios (uOR, aOR) for poor maternal outcome (PMO) and for poor perinatal outcome (PPO) in each category of BMI and GWG. Adjustment was done for age, scarred uterus, sickle cell disease, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, parity and smoking.ResultsOf the 462 participants, 17 (4 %) were underweight (BMI < 18.5), 228 (49 %) had normal pre-pregnancy BMI, 152 (33 %) were overweight (25 ≤ BMI < 30) and 65 (14 %) were obese (BMI ≥ 30). Following the IOM recommendations, GWG was normal for 186 (40 %) participants, less than recommended for 131 (28 %) and above the recommended norms for 145 (32 %). GWG above the IOM recommendation was significantly associated with PMO (aOR: 1.7, 95 % CI 1.1–2.8). GWG less than the IOM recommended values, overweight and obesity were not significantly associated with poor pregnancy outcomes.ConclusionWhile waiting for local recommendations for GWG, the IOM recommendations can be used for Cameroonian women as far as maternal outcome is concerned. Unlike in studies in different ethnic and racial groups, abnormal BMI was not associated with poor pregnancy outcomes in our cohort of Cameroonian women.

A multicentre analysis was carried out on bone tumours in Cameroon during a 10-year period. Registers and patient records of five pathology laboratories were consulted, and all patients with a histological report of a bone tumour were included in the study. A total of 268 bone tumours were studied and the average incidence was 27 tumours a year, or two per one million inhabitants. Of these tumours 48% were benign, 45% were primary bone cancers and only 6% were metastatic disease. Among the primary malignant bone tumours, osteosarcoma was the most frequent (39%), followed by non-Hodgkin's primary bone lymphoma, fibrosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, and Ewing's sarcoma. Primary site of the metastatic bone tumours was prostatic adenocarcinoma, breast cancer, hepatocarcinoma and thyroid cancer. In Cameroon many bone tumours are not diagnosed due to lack of medical facilities and little awareness among our medical staff. It is likely that the real incidence is at least ten times higher than that shown in our report.

IntroductionEn Afrique subsaharienne, les cancers constituent un fléau dont les caractéristiques restent à préciser.MéthodesAfin de déterminer les aspects histologiques et cliniques des cancers gynécologiques et mammaires au Cameroun, nous avons mené une étude descriptive et rétrospective sur une période de 54 mois à l'Hôpital Gynéco-Obstétrique et Pédiatrique de Yaoundé.RésultatsLes 424 cas enregistrés se répartissaient ainsi: cancers du col de l'utérus: 210 cas (49.5%); du sein: 144 cas (34%); de l'ovaire: 31 cas (7.4%); de l'endomètre: 21 cas (4.9%); de la vulve: 14 cas (3.3%); du vagin: 1 cas (0.2%) et les sarcomes utérins: 3 cas (0.7%). Pour le cancer du sein, l’âge moyen au diagnostic était de 46.08±4.0 ans, 92.4% de patientes présentaient une masse (dont 60.9% localisées au quadrant supéro-externe), 76.4% étaient découverts aux stades T3 et T4, et 71.5% étaient les carcinomes canalaires. Pour les cancers du col, l’âge moyen au diagnostic était de 52.43±3.82 ans, 62.9% étaient découverts aux stades FIGO 1 et 2, et 87.6% étaient des carcinomes épidermoïdes. Pour le cancer de l'ovaire, l’âge moyen au diagnostic était de 49.0±9.31 ans, 90.3% étaient des tumeurs épithéliales et 74.2% étaient aux stades 2 et 3 (FIGO). Quant aux cancers de l'endomètre, l’âge moyen au diagnostic était de 59±14.55 ans, 90.5% étaient des adénocarcinomes.ConclusionLes principaux cancers étaient ceux du col de l'utérus et du sein. Le diagnostic étant souvent fait aux stades tardifs et par conséquent de mauvais pronostic, la prévention des cancers gynécologiques et mammaires devrait être renforcée au Cameroun.

Background. Cervical cancer screening is one of the most effective cancer prevention strategies, but most women in Africa have never been screened. In 2007, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, a large faith-based health care system in Cameroon, initiated the Women's Health Program (WHP) to address this disparity. The WHP provides fee-for-service cervical cancer screening using visual inspection with acetic acid enhanced by digital cervicography (VIA-DC), prioritizing care for women living with HIV/AIDS. They also provide clinical breast examination, family planning (FP) services, and treatment for reproductive tract infection (RTI). Here, we document the strengths and challenges of the WHP screening program and the unique aspects of the WHP model, including a fee-for-service payment system and the provision of other women's health services. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed WHP medical records from women who presented for cervical cancer screening from 2007-2014.

This cross-sectional descriptive study, aimed at accessing the accuracy of Pap smear in diagnosing cervical precancerous lesions, was carried out between 3 January and 30 April 2017. All women screened for cervical dysplasia by means of Pap smear with biopsy done for confirmation were subsequently recruited. Data were analysed using SPSS 20.0. A total of 231 women were screened for cervical dysplasia using Pap smear with 75 biopsies performed. Cervical dysplasia was noticed in 54 cases. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values of Pap smear were 55.5%, 75%, 88.2% and 33.3%, respectively. The sensitivity of Pap smear remains low. Therefore, biopsy should be done in cases of macroscopic cervical architectural changes irrespective of the result of the Pap smear. Moreover, to reduce the number of women with cervical precancerous lesions, the government should make available financial resources to set up HPV vaccination programmes rather than screening programmes.

BackgroundIn 2007, the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services (CBCHS) implemented a screen-and-treat cervical cancer prevention program using visual inspection with acetic acid enhanced by digital cervicography (VIA-DC).MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed 46,048 medical records of women who received care through the CBCHS Women’s Health Program from 2007 through 2014 to determine the prevalence and predictors of positive VIA-DC, rates of same day treatment, and cohort prevalence of invasive cervical cancer (ICC).ResultsOf the 44,979 women who were screened for cervical cancer, 9.0% were VIA-DC-positive, 66.8% were VIA-DC-negative, 22.0% were VIA-DC-inadequate (normal ectocervix, but portions of the transformation zone were obscured), and 2.2% were VIA-DC-uncertain (cervical abnormalities confounding VIA-DC interpretation). Risk factors significantly associated with VIA-DC-positive screen were HIV-positivity, young age at sexual debut, higher lifetime number of sexual partners, low education status and higher gravidity. In 2014, 31.1% of women eligible for cryotherapy underwent same day treatment. Among the 32,788 women screened from 2007 through 2013, 201 cases of ICC were identified corresponding to a cohort prevalence of 613 per 100,000.ConclusionsHigh rate of VIA-DC-positive screens suggests a significant burden of potential cervical cancer cases and highlights the need for expansion of cervical cancer screening and prevention throughout the 10 regions of Cameroon. VIA-DC-inadequate rates were also high, especially in older women, and additional screening methods are needed to confirm whether these results are truly negative. In comparison to similar screening programs in sub-Saharan Africa there was low utilization of same day cryotherapy treatment. Further studies are required to characterize possible program specific barriers to treatment, for example cultural demands, health system challenges and cost of procedure. The prevalence of ICC among women who presented for screening was high and requires further investigation.