Breast Cancer Profile in a Group of Patients Followed up at the Radiation Therapy Unit of the Yaounde General Hospital, Cameroon

Abstract

Objective. To describe the profile of breast cancer in the patients attending the radiation therapy unit of Yaounde General Hospital. Method. From 1989 to 2009, we conducted a descriptive retrospective study based on the register and medical records of patients. Results. During the study period, 531 breast cancer patients were recorded of which 0.75% were male. Age range was 18 to 82 years, with a mean of 45.17 years. Out of these, 66.1% were less than 50 years old and 31.9% less than 40. Self detection was the discovery method in most cases (95.34% of patients). Mean delay before presentation at hospital was 10.35 months, and 54.94% had used traditional medicine before medical evaluation. Metastasis and locally advanced breast cancer at diagnosis were present in 08.13% and 62.78%, respectively. Mastectomy was used in 88.08% of patients. Conclusion. The study reinforces the position occupied by late presentation and advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer profile in developing countries.

Clinicopathologic Profile of Breast Cancer Patients in Pakistan: Ten Years Data of a Local Cancer Hospital

“…A similar proportion of 60% patients being younger than 50 years (Bhurgri et al, 2007) and 32% patients younger than 40 years (Badar et al, 2011) has been reported in studies from Pakistan and other developing countries. In a recent report on breast cancer profile of patients in Cameroon, 66% were younger than 50 years and 32% were younger than 40 years (Ngowa et al, 2011).…”

“…The younger age at presentation is a feature of breast cancer patients in most of the developing countries like India (Dinshaw et al, 2005;Saxena et al, 2005;Agarwal et al, 2007), SriLanka (Lokuhetty et al, 2009) and Cameroon (Ngowa et al, 2011). The younger age range of patients in Pakistan and the other developing countries may be explained by the younger age structure and the lower life expectancy of their women.…”

A Review on Breast Cancer Care in Africa

“…Clinical and pathological factors will be discussed on the basis of articles from 7 African countries: Republic of South Africa (RSA) [24], Egypt [25,26,27], Nigeria [28], Eritrea [29], Morocco [30], Cameroon [31,32], and Rwanda [33]. …”

Trends in breast and cervical cancer incidence in Cameroon (Central Africa) from 2004 to 2011

“…They also found that 6.02% were less than 30 and 34.09% were more than 50 [8]. Sando et al found that out of 144 cases of BC over 6 years (2003-2009) at the Yaounde Gyneco-Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, 50.69% were between 30 and 50 year old while 37.5% were more than 50 and 11.81% were less than 30 [9].…”

“…More recently, Kemfang et al reported that in a series of 531 cases of breast cancers in a reference hospital in Yaounde over two decades , 59.89% of women were between 30 and 50 [8]. They also found that 6.02% were less than 30 and 34.09% were more than 50 [8].…”