Breast Tumors in Young Women in Cotonou: Diagnosis, Treatment and Prognosis

Abstract

Introduction: The high frequency of benign breast tumors in young women and the rarity of cancers but poor prognosis in a context of diagnostic and therapeutic difficulties deserve special attention. Objective: To study the clinical, therapeutic and prognostic aspects of breast tumors treated in Cotonou between 2015 and 2019. Method: This is a cross-sectional study with retrospective data collection on breast tumors treated between 2015 and 2019 in two reference hospitals in Cotonou. All patients aged under 40 treated for breast tumors were studied. The clinical, therapeutic and evolutionary characteristics of breast tumors were analyzed. Results: Breast cancer rate was 5.2% (n=12) versus 94.8% (n=219) for benign tumors. Self-examination was the circumstance of discovery in 81% (n=187) and average medical examination time was 6.4 months. The clinical characteristics in favor of malignancy were: hard consistency in 4.7% (n=16) of cases, irregularity in 25.6% (n=88) of cases, adhesion in 11.3% (n=39) and axillary adenopathy in 10.4% (n=36) of cases. The probability of confirmation of the nature of suspicious tumor on the clinico-radiological level was 3/10. Therapeutic decisions were mostly taken on clinical and radiological arguments. Histology was not systematic. The prognosis was good for benign tumors and bad for breast cancer with a cure rate of 25%. Conclusion: Diagnosis of breast tumors in young women is much more clinical. The absence of a radiotherapy department limits treatment and worsens the prognosis.