[Cancer localisation in men and women aged over 50 in Cameroon]

Abstract

The aim of this study was to present the sites of cancers diagnosed in men and women aged 50 years and above in Cameroon. From the registries of the pathology laboratory of the Yaoundé Central Hospital which at the national level receives the majority of samples sent for histopathology analysis, we recorded all cases of cancers diagnosed in people aged 50 years and above, during the period from 1st January 1987 to 31st August 1996 (9 years 8 months). 1,925 cancers were recorded: -1,005 of these (52.2%) were issued from men aged fifty years and above. These 1,005 cancers came from seventeen sites, the most common being: liver (226 cases = 22.49%), prostate (222 cases = 22.09%), skin (195 cases = 19.40%) and ENT (100 cases = 9.95%); that made 73.93% (above 3/4) of cancers observed in men aged fifty years and above from this study. -920 of these (47.8%) were diagnosed from women aged fifty years and above. These 920 cancers came from twenty-two sites, the most common being: uterine cervix (292 cases = 31.74%), breast (170 cases = 18.48%), skin (111 cases = 12.07%) and liver (90 cases = 9.78%); that made 72.07% (about 3/4) of cancers observed in women aged fifty years and above, from this study.