Bone tumours in Cameroon: incidence, demography and histopathology

Abstract

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.

Profile of Secondary Bone Cancer in Lomé (Togo)

“…Daboiko et al have found a clear dominance of bone metastases cancer of the prostate always in the Cocody CHU [19]. The results of our study were comparable to those obtained in Cameroon by Bahebeck et al who found the cancer of the prostate gland, followed by cancer breast, the hepatic carcinoma and cancer of the thyroid gland [5].…”

“…Bone metastases of broncho-pulmonary cancers and breast cancers are more common in the West [1]- [4]. In Africa, prostate, breast and liver cancers are most often responsible for bone metastases [5]- [12]. In Africa in general, the diagnosis is not always easy and care remains poor due to lack of technological and financial resources and above all the still very limited access to appropriate health care facilities.…”

Malignant bone tumors in Kuwait

“…Despite this observation, epidemiological studies have not been able to clarify the role of environmental and genetic factors in their aetiology [3,10]. Similarly, there is a wide difference in the reported ratio of primary to metastatic tumours [2,13]. This may be a reflection of the nature of hospital practice and availability of adequate diagnostic facilities.…”

Study of Bone Tumors in a Tertiary Care Hospital of Dhaka City

“…The most common bones involved were the long bones; less commonly the jaws, vertebrae, scapula pelvis, and small bones of hands and feet were involved [12][13][14][15] .Another important finding is that benign tumors were predominantly of Giant cell type, while metastatic tumors were common (33.3%) among malignant lesions followed by Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma which differs from the findings of the several other investigators 1,6,9,16 who reported osteochondroma to be the most common benign bone tumors accounting for 20 to 40% of all the benign tumors, while osteosarcoma to be the most common primary bone tumors in young and adolescents. It occurs most frequently in the second decade, occurring in the metaphysis, mostly in lower end of femur followed by upper end of tibia [13][14][15]17 . Ewing sarcoma is a highly malignant, undifferentiated, peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor occurring most commonly at the diaphysis of long bones, in the 0 to 20 years age group, with male predominance [13][14][15] .…”

“…Femur, pelvis, vertebrae, humerus, and rib are the most common sites of metastases [13][14][15]17 . The clinical manifestation is extensive and nonspecific.…”