[Breast density assessment and organised breast cancer screening]. / Catégorisation de la densité mammaire et dépistage organisé du cancer du sein.

INTRODUCTION: The objective of this study was to evaluate the intra- and inter-rater agreement of radiologists regarding the evaluation of breast density. METHODOLOGY: Breast density assessments of 120 cases were performed by four radiologists in the city of Ouagadougou according to the fifth edition of the American College of Radiology BI-RADS atlas. Cohen's weighted kappa coefficients and Fleiss kappa coefficients were used to estimate agreement between observers and with a panel of three experts radiologists. A new evaluation of the 120 cases was performed by all raters one month after the initial evaluation. RESULTS: Inter-rater kappa coefficients ranged from 0.55 to 0.74. The Fleiss kappa coefficient was 0.58, 0.43, 0.41, and 0.43 for categories A, B, C, and D respectively. In terms of classification into "sparse breasts" and "dense breasts", the kappa coefficients ranged from 0.47 to 0.67. Taking the results of the expert panel as a reference, the proportion of false positives in the diagnosis "dense breasts" ranged from 18.6% to 26.8%. Intraobserver agreement was good. CONCLUSION: Our study showed moderate to good intra- and inter-raters agreements. Upgrading and harmonisation of practices will be used to empower radiologists to participate in organised breast cancer screening in Burkina Faso.

[Histological profile and progression of intraspinal tumors after surgery]. / Profil histologique et évolution des tumeurs intra rachidiennes opérées.

Intraspinal tumors are uncommon. Positive diagnosis is based on medical imaging exams, in particular MRI. Anatomopathological examination allows for definitive diagnosis. Surgery is the treatment of choice for most of them. Prognosis is related to the histological type and patient´s initial clinical condition. We here report the histological profile and progression of intraspinal tumors in our department. We conducted a retrospective study over a period of 10 years. All operated patients with histology-confirmed intraspinal tumor (23 cases) were enrolled. Four unworkable records were excluded. The median time from symptom onset and first consultation was 79 days. Patients presented with spinal cord compression. In 11 cases this was characterized by slow onset. Seven CT scan and 14 MRI were performed, which showed 4 intramedullary tumors, 9 intradural, 1 extradural, and 5 of unknown site. Histological examination showed meningioma in 11 cases, neurinoma in 3 cases. In 7 cases, it confirmed the diagnosis based on Imaging tests (4 CT and 3 MRI). Macroscopically complete resection was performed in 14 cases; it was partial in 5 cases. After a 6-month follow-up period 6 patients had fully recovered, 9 partially. This study highlights diagnosis delays. MRI better defined the lesion, but its histological approach was limited. Meningiomas dominated. Complete resection was most often performed. The postoperative course was uneventful.

Cancer of the vulva in Burkina Faso: a hospital-based case series.

BACKGROUND: Vulvar cancer is a rare gynaecological cancer. In Burkina Faso, the diagnosis of vulvar cancers is delayed and the prognosis is poor. However, no specific study on vulvar cancers has been conducted at the moment. This work aimed to study the characteristics of these cancers. METHODS: This is a prospective study on histologically confirmed primary cancers of the vulva diagnosed between 1st January 2013 and 30th June 2015. The demographic and clinical aspects were studied at the Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital of Ouagadougou (CHU-YO). RESULTS: We noticed 21 cases of vulvar cancers within 30 months, ranking it as the 4th most common gynaecological cancer. The average age of the patients was 55 years (standard deviation +/- 6.3) and the median age was 57 years. Scars resulting from female circumcision, menopause (n = 20) and HIV infection were noticed in 19 cases and 6 cases respectively. The average time from first symptoms to first consultation was 29 months. Pain and ulceration were the main reasons for consultation. The clinical picture was chiefly an ulcero-granulating tumour. There was squamous cell carcinoma in 20 cases and basal carcinoma in 1 case. Fifteen patients were at stage III or IV, where of three patients had metastatic disease. We noticed vitiligo in 9 vulvar cancer cases. CONCLUSION: The cancer of the vulva is rare. Women are of menopausal age, are mostly circumcised and HIV-infection is common. A majority of patients sought consultation at advanced stage of disease, and diagnosis was belatedly made. Pain and ulceration were the main reasons for consultation. The sensitization of the population, education for self- examination would allow earlier diagnosis.

[Clinical and outcome characteristics of inflammatory breast cancers in Brazzaville]. / Caractéristiques cliniques et évolutives des cancers du sein inflammatoires à Brazzaville.

T4 breast cancers are a heterogeneous group. We conducted this study to analyze the differences between inflammatory and non-inflammatory T4 breast cancers. In a cross-sectional descriptive study over a period ranging from 2007 to 2010, we collected patients with T4 breast cancer. These patients were divided into two groups: a group of inflammatory breast cancer (IBC) and a group of breast cancer T4 non inflammatory (NIBC). We compared the epidemiological, clinical and outcome characteristics of the two groups. We identified 129 patients with T4 stage out of 343 patients with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Fifty-two IBC and 77 NIBC patients were observed. We did not found any epidemiological difference between the two groups. The two entities differed in tumor size (greater in the IBC group) and skin ulceration (less frequently found in the NIBC group). The only independent prognostic factor for failure of first line chemotherapy was, for both groups, non-compliance treatment intervals. The median overall survival in our study was 9 months in the IBC versus 13 months in the NIBC (p = 0.01, Log-rank test) patients. By multivariate analysis, IBC was the only independent prognostic factor negatively influencing the survival. IBC is a frequent entity in Brazzaville, Congo and displays a poor-prognosis.

[Twelve years of working of Brazzaville cancer registry]. / Douze années de fonctionnement du registre des cancers de Brazzaville.

The Brazzaville cancer registry was created in 1996 with the support of the International Agency Research against Cancer (IARC) which is located in Lyon, France. The Brazzaville cancer registry is a registry which is based on population which records new cancer cases occurring in Brazzaville by using Canreg 4.0 Software. Its aim is to supply useful information to fight against cancer to physicians and to decision makers. We conducted this study whose target was to determine the incidence of cancer in Brazzaville during twelve years, from January 1st, 1998 to December 31, 2009. During that period 6,048 new cancer cases were recorded: 3,377 women (55.8%), 2,384 men (39.4%), and 287 children (4.8%) from 0 to 14 years old with an annual average of 504 cases. Middle age to the patient's diagnosis was 49.5 years in female sex and 505.5 years old for male sex. The incidence rate of cancers in Brazzaville was 39.8 or 100.000 inhabitants per year and by sex we observed 49 to female sex and 35.2 for male sex. The first cancers localizations observed to women were in order of frequency: breast, cervix uterine, liver ovaries, hematopoietic system, to men : liver, prostate, hematopoietic system, colon and stomach; to children : retina, kidney, hematopoietic system, liver and bones. These rates are the basis to know the burden of cancer among all pathologies of Brazzaville and the achievement of a national cancer control program.