Clinicopathological study of breast diseases presenting to the surgical oncology unit of Donka University Hospital in Conakry, Guinea.

AIM: The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and trends in the number of patients presenting with breast diseases (BD), their evolution in time, and the referral route. METHODS: We reviewed all patients with breast disease who consulted at the Unit of Surgical Oncology of Donka from May 2007 to December 2009, examining the distribution of breast diseases. The numbers of women diagnosed with breast cancers was analysed with respect to time and referral source. RESULTS: There was a progressive increase in the number of patients presenting with breast diseases from year to year: 66 cases in 2007, 134 in 2008 and 227 in 2009. Of 423 patients with breast disease, 184 (43.5%) were diagnosed with breast cancer: 178 women and 6 men. Moreover, the percentage with breast cancer varied significantly according to referral route (p<10-3); 56.0% among patients referred by health professionals and 22.3% in women who self-referred. Mean age at diagnosis of breast cancer was 48 years (n=178), 52.2% were post-menopausal. Women with breast cancer had on average 4.7 full term pregnancies. The tumor was considered aggressive in 62.9% of women because of the rapidity of its evolution. Early stage at diagnosis was made only for 4.3% of the cases. The hormone receptor were positive in 4 of 13 cases (30.7%), and the Cerb2 oncogene was over expressed in 8 of 11 cases (72.7%). CONCLUSION: A better organisation of the consultation services in a unit of oncology in a developing country can allow a better sorting and a good orientation of the patients and thus allow the early detection of the breast cancer. This requires adequate awareness of the population, a better involvement and adequate training of the health professionals dedicated to the tasks. The study of the Cerb2's expression and the hormone receptor are to be considered for better understanding the aggressiveness of the breast cancer found in our practice.

[Aspects of genital tuberculosis in women]. / Aspects de la tuberculose génitale de la femme.

Thirteen cases of genital tuberculosis are reported to make emphasis onto the difficulties of diagnosis, management and prognosis of the disease. The average age of the patients is 31 years. Most of them were under 30. The circumstances of diagnosis were variable. The diagnosis was essentially made thanks to histology. The evolution was favorable under antibiotics. But clinical sequels as amenorrhea and infertility are frequent.

Cancer incidence in Conakry, Guinea: first results from the Cancer Registry 1992-1995.

We have registered 2,064 cases of cancer among the inhabitants of Conakry, Guinea, during 1992-1994, corresponding to age-standardized incidence rates (ASRs) of 83.3 per 100,000 in men and 110.5 per 100,000 in women. As elsewhere in West Africa, the principal cancer of men was liver cancer (ASR 32.6), with modest rates of stomach (ASR 6.2) and prostate (ASR 8.1) cancers. In women, cervix cancer was the dominant malignancy (ASR 46.0), followed by liver cancer (ASR 12.5) and breast cancer (ASR 10.9). In contrast to contemporary East and Central Africa, Kaposi's sarcoma remained rare (only 4 cases). In the childhood age group, relatively high incidence rates were found for Hodgkin's disease, Burkitt's lymphoma and, especially, retinoblastoma.