BackgroundBreast cancer (breast Ca) is recognised as a major public health problem in the world. Data on reproductive factors associated with breast Ca in the Central African Republic (CAR) is very limited. This study aimed to identify reproductive variables as risk factors for breast Ca in CAR women.MethodsA case–control study was conducted among 174 cases of breast Ca confirmed at the Pathology Unit of the National Laboratory in Bangui between 2003 and 2015 and 348 age-matched controls. Data collection tools included a questionnaire, interviews and a review of medical records of patients. Data were analysed using SPSS software version 20. Odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the likelihood of developing breast Ca were obtained using unconditional logistic regression.ResultsIn total, 522 women with a mean age of 45.8 (SD = 13.4) years were enrolled. Women with breast Ca were more likely to have attained little or no education (AOR = 11.23, CI: 4.65–27.14 and AOR = 2.40, CI: 1.15–4.99), to be married (AOR = 2.09, CI: 1.18–3.71), to have had an abortion (AOR = 5.41, CI: 3.47–8.44), and to be nulliparous (AOR = 1.98, CI: 1.12–3.49). Decreased odds of breast Ca were associated with being employed (AOR = 0.32, CI: 0.19–0.56), living in urban areas (AOR = 0.16, CI: 0.07–0.37), late menarche (AOR = 0.18, CI: 0.07–0.44), regular menstrual cycles (AOR = 0.44, CI: 0.23–0.81), term pregnancy (AOR = 0.26, CI: 0.13–0.50) and hormonal contraceptive use (AOR = 0.62, CI: 0.41–0.93).ConclusionBreast Ca risk factors in CAR did not appear to be significantly different from that observed in other populations. This study highlighted the risk factors of breast Ca in women living in Bangui to inform appropriate control measures.

Hepatitis E, Central African Republic

BackgroundBreast cancer is recognised as a major public health problem in developing countries; however, there is very limited evidence about its epidemiology in the Central African Republic. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological and histopathological characteristics of breast cancer in Bangui.MethodsThis is a retrospective study based on the data collected from pathological anatomy records from 2003 to 2015 in Bangui. A questionnaire was designed to collect information and data was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods.ResultsThe mean age was 45.83 (SD = 13.5) years. The age group of 45–54 years represented the majority of the study population (29.3%). Over 69.5% of the women were housewives with a moderate economic status (56.9%). Less than 14% of the study population had a level of academic degree and 85.6% lived in cities. The breast cancer prevalence was 15.27%. The age-standardized incidence and death by world population (ASW) were 11.19/100,000 and 9.97/100,000 respectively. 50–54 years were most affected. Left breast cancer is mainly common and the time between first symptoms and consultation is more than 48 months. Most (69%) of the samples analysed were lumpectomy. The most common morphology of breast cancer was invasive ductal carcinoma (64.9%). Scarff Bloom Richardson III was the main grade in both common pathological types, but their proportion showed no significant increase along with time (χ2 = 7.06, p = 0.54). Invasion of regional lymph node differed significantly among the pathological type of breast cancer (χ2 = 24.6, p = 0.02). Surgery and chemotherapy were appropriate treatment yet 84.5% of the cases died.ConclusionThe findings of this study showed that breast cancer is common and mostly affected women. Epidemiological trends are more or less common to those of developing countries with a predominance of invasive ductal carcinoma. However, most of the women studied live in an urban area and developed the disease in advanced stage. The establishment of an appropriate framework will effectively contribute to promoting the early detection and reducing the incidence of this disease in the population.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-016-3863-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Breast cancer is recognized as a major public health problem in developing countries; however, there is very little evidence of behavioral factors associated with breast cancer risk. This study was conducted to identify lifestyles as risk factors for breast cancer among Central African women. A case-control study was conducted with 174 cases confirmed histologically by the pathology unit of the National Laboratory and 348 age-matched controls. Data collection tools included a questionnaire with interviews and medical records of patients. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 20. Odd ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were obtained by unconditional logistic regression. In total, 522 women were studied with a mean age of 45.8 (SD = 13.4) years. By unconditional logistic regression model, women with breast cancer were more likely to have attained illiterate and elementary education level [11.23 (95% CI, 4.65–27.14) and 2.40 (95% CI, 1.15–4.99)], married [2.09 (95% CI, 1.18–3.71)], positive family history [2.31 (95% CI, 1.36–3.91)], radiation exposure [8.21 (95% CI, 5.04–13.38)], consumption charcuterie [10.82 (95% CI, 2.39–48.90)], fresh fish consumption [4.26 (95% CI, 1.56–11.65)], groundnut consumption [6.46 (95% CI, 2.57–16.27)], soybean consumption [16.74 (95% CI, 8.03–39.84)], alcohol [2.53 (95% CI, 1.39–4.60)], habit of keeping money in bras[3.57 (95% CI, 2.24–5.69)], overweight [5.36 (95% CI, 4.46–24.57)] and obesity [3.11(95% CI, 2.39–20.42)]. However, decreased risk of breast cancer was associated with being employed [0.32 (95% CI, 0.19–0.56)], urban residence [0.16 (95% CI, 0.07–0.37)], groundnut oil consumption [0.05 (95% CI, 0.02–0.14)], wine consumption [0.16 (95% CI, 0.09–0.26)], non habit of keeping cell phone in bras [0.56 (95% CI, 0.35–0.89)] and physical activity [0.71(95% CI, 0.14–0.84)]. The study showed that little or no education, marriage, positive family history of cancer, radiation exposure, charcuterie, fresh fish, groundnut, soybean, alcohol, habit of keeping money in bras, overweight and obesity were associated with breast cancer risk among Central African women living in Bangui. Women living in Bangui should be more cautious on the behavioral risk associated with breast cancer.