Histo-epidemiological aspects of gynecological and breast cancers at the University Teaching Hospital of Yaoundé

Abstract

Introduction: cancer is a public health problem that affect women more than men. The aim of the study was to describe the epidemiological and
histopathological features of gynecological malignancies in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon. Methods: this was a descriptive cross-sectional study of
histologically proven gynecological cancers over a 10-year period (2008-2017) in the Gynecology and Pathological Anatomy Departments of the
University Teaching Hospital of Yaoundé. Results: a total of 682 cancers were identified among which, 342 gynecological cancers, for an overall
frequency of 50.1% and an annual frequency of 34.2 cases on average. There was a trend suggesting an increase annual frequency over time. The
cervix was the most frequent location with 182 cases (53.2%); followed by breast with 96 cases (28.1%); endometrium with 33 cases (9.7%) and
ovaries 15 cases (4.4%). These patients were on average 51.9±13.7 years old, mostly housewives (56.8%), married (60.4%), multiparous (61.3%)
and referred (62.6%). Histopathologically, cervical cancer was predominantly squamous cell carcinoma (86.8%), invasive (80.9%) and well
differentiated (45.5%). For breast cancers, the majority were ductal carcinomas (78.1%), invasive (92%), and histological grade SBR II (50.6%).
The most common histopathological types of endometrial and ovarian cancer were adenocarcinoma (72.2%) and serous cystadenocarcinoma
(46.7%), respectively. Conclusion: gynecological cancers are common. Screening is expected to increase at 30 years for cervical cancer and start
at age 40 with mammography for breast cancer.