Abstract
In Cameroon, breast and cervical cancers are the leading causes of cancer-related morbidity and mortality. Preventive actions against cervical cancer began two decades ago and culminated in October 2014 with the launching of the national programme of vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus. Preventive actions against breast cancer are less visible. Effective strategies to control those cancers need to be informed with accurate data on incidence. Given the weakness of the national health information, we carried out this study in view of determining trends in incidences of those two cancers in Cameroon. We reviewed all breast and cervical cancers diagnosed in six pathology laboratories in four towns (Yaoundé, Bafoussam, Bamenda and Douala) from the January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2011. A total of 1394 cases of breast cancer and 903 cases of cervical cancer were analysed. For breast cancer, 91.944% of women were 30 years old or more and 88.13% of those with cervical cancer were diagnosed at 30 years old or above. Cervical cancer was more frequent than breast cancer from 2004 to 2007 then, the latter became more frequent. The incidence of cervical cancer showed little variations while that of breast cancer showed a 3.16 folds increase. The constant rise in incidence of breast cancer may be due the lack of an effective national prevention policy against it as it is the case for cervical cancer. If a national study confirms this trend, then a preventive strategy should be urgently implemented.
Résumé
Les cancers du sein et du col de l’utérus sont les plus fréquents au Cameroun. Contrairement au cancer du sein, les activités de prévention du cancer du col sont mises en oeuvre depuis 20 ans et ont culminé avec le lancement en octobre 2014 de la vaccination contre le virus du papillome humain. L’efficacité d’une stratégie préventive dépend de la disponibilité des données sur l’incidence. Compte tenu de la faiblesse du système national d’informations sanitaires nous avons mené cette étude en vue de déterminer l’évolution de l’incidence de ces deux cancers au Cameroun. Nous avons étudié tous les cancers du col utérin et du sein diagnostiqués dans six laboratoires de quatre villes (Bamenda, Douala, Yaoundé et Bafoussam) du 1er janvier 2004 au 31 décembre 2011. Neuf cent trois cas de cancer du col et 1394 cas de cancers du sein ont été étudiés. Quatre vingt onze pour cent des cancers du sein et 88,13% des cancers du col utérin étaient observés chez des femmes de plus de 30 ans. Le cancer du col était plus fréquent que celui du sein jusqu’en 2007, année après laquelle la tendance s’est inversée. L’incidence du cancer du col utérin a très peu varié pendant la période d’étude tandis que celle du sein a été multipliée par 3,16. L’augmentation constante de l’incidence du cancer du sein serait due à un déficit de la politique de prévention. Une étude nationale est nécessaire pour confirmer ces tendances.
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Sando, Z., Fouelifack, Y.F., Fouogue, T.J. et al. Trends in breast and cervical cancer incidence in Cameroon (Central Africa) from 2004 to 2011. J Afr Cancer 7, 118–121 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12558-015-0378-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12558-015-0378-5