Introduction: Breast cancer is the most frequent type of cancer in women and is characterized by late clinical signs in developing countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo. One of the main reasons of death from breast cancer is lack of awareness and screening, which has led to late diagnosis (at an advanced stage).This study aims to measure women's knowledge regarding breast cancer in Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study of 489 women aged 20-65 years was conducted. Data was collected using a predesigned, tested, self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire included specific sections to test the participants' knowledge related to breast cancer and its screening, and practices related to breast self-examination (BSE). Bivariate and multivariate analyzes were used.Results: Our results indicated that 22.09% of the participants had good breast cancer knowledge and 77.91% had poor breast cancer knowledge. Overall, 322 (65.85%) participants recognized that BSE is a valuable method for early screening of BSE. In total, 136 (27.81%) respondents had learned to do the BSE and 216 (44.17%) had reported doing it. Two hundred and ninety-two (59.71%) respondents mentioned that any woman was at risk for breast cancer and 357 (71.78%) mentioned that it was possible to prevent breast cancer. Determinants of an adequate level of knowledge were higher/university educational level (adjusted odds ratio = 2.70; 95% confidence interval: 1.27-5.73; p = .010) and having previously been screened for breast cancer (adjusted odds ratio = 2.31; 95% confidence interval: 1.40-3.83; p = .001). Conclusion:The majority (77.91%) of women have demonstrated poor knowledge of signs/symptoms, risk factors, and screening methods of breast cancer. Additional efforts should be made through women's healthcare workers to raise knowledge of breast cancer screening.

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Risk factors for this disease are numerous and their prevalence varies according to racial and ethnic groups and geographical regions. Therefore, we sought to identify BC risk factors in the Congolese population. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at the Nganda Hospital Center in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. One hundred and sixty patients with breast cancer (cases) were compared to 320 women who did not have BC (controls). STATA version 16 was used to analyze data with statistical significance considered at p < 0.05. Results: There is a strong association between BC in Congolese women and early menarche age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.3), family history of BC (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.2-5.5), overweight (aOR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1-2.7), and obesity (aOR = 7.3; 95% CI: 4.0-13.4). Conclusion: Our results indicate the presence of certain conventional risk factors. Thus, these results will be of great value in establishing adequate evidence-based awareness and preventive measures among the Congolese population.

Introduction. The molecular classification of breast cancer (BC) based on gene expression and then protein profile has made it possible to distinguish different molecular subtypes. The objective of this study was to describe immunohistochemical features of BC infiltrating women at the Nganda Hospital Center in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Methods. A retrospective study from 2014 to 2019 involved 190 patients with invasive BC who were enrolled at the Nganda Hospital Center. The tumors were analyzed histologically and classified after an immunohistochemical study into subtypes: luminal A, luminal B, HER2-overexpressed, and triple-negative. A chi-square test was performed to assess the relationship between age, histological grade, and these subtypes. Results. The luminal A subtype (44.74%) was the most common, followed by luminal B (40.53%), triple-negative (10.53%), and HER2-overexpressed (4.20%). The mean age of the patients at diagnosis was 48.27 years. Of all cases, 94.21% were ductal, 2.63% were mucinous, and 2.11% were lobular. They were classified as grade I in 68.82% of the cases, grade II in 28.42% of the cases, and grade III in 3.16% of the cases. There was a significant association between histological grade and breast cancer subtypes ( p < 0.0001 ), but no correlation was found with age ( p = 0.467 ). Conclusion. In our BC patients, the luminal A was predominant, while HER2-overexpressed was the least found. A strong association was noted between histological grade and molecular subtypes. These results should allow for important clinical and policy implications for BC control in the DRC.

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