Title : Risk factors and clinical aspects of cervical cancer in Cameroon: A case control study
Abstract:
Background and Justification: More than 6 million Cameroonian women aged 15 and over are at risk of developing cervical cancer. Despite this impact, recent studies on its risk factors in Cameroon are limited.
Objective: Our objective was to identify the risk factors for cervical cancer as well as its clinical characteristics in three hospitals in Cameroon.
Method: This was a case-control study, with retrospective data collection. It took place from 17 November 2022 to 15 May 2024. Included were the complete medical files of patients with cervical cancer confirmed on biopsy (cases) and those with a normal cervical smear (controls). Sampling was non-probabilistic and non-exhaustive. The variables we studied were collected using a Google Forms questionnaire and were analyzed using the R-Statistical software version 4.2.3.
Results: We included a total of 164 women. The median age was 44 ± [40.25 - 49] years with a minimum of 29 years and a maximum of 78. The risk factors that we found were as follow: low education level (OR= 39.5 [3.65-10.46], P<0.05); multiparity (OR= 4.94 [1.67-16.0], P<0.05) and HIV positive status (OR= 4.47 [1.17-17.5], P<0.05). The symptoms were dominated by metrorrhagia in 78% of cases. Among them, 63.4% already had impairment of the parameters at the time of the diagnosis, indicating the advanced stage of the disease.
Conclusion: The risk factors identified are: low education level, multiparity and HIV positive status. Metrorrhagia was the main symptom. Parametrial damage was the most objective sign. Stage 2B of FIGO was predominant at the time of diagnosis.
Keywords: Risk factor, cancer, cervix, Cameroon.
