So-called "historical" necrotic breast cancers: a terrifying actuality in Africa. The case of Burkina Faso.

Abstract

Study the epidemiological, diagnostic, and treatment features and outcomes of necrotic breast cancer in women. This observational, longitudinal, and descriptive study covered the period from January, 2011, to the end of May, 2016 at the Surgery and Gynecology Departments of Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital and Schiphra Medical Center. The study included all women with necrotic breast cancers. Survival was calculated by the Kaplan Meier method and survival comparison was possible with the log-rank method. À risk of error of 0.05 was allowed. Necrotic cancer accounted for 9.1% of all breast cancers. The median age of the patients was 46 years old. The median interval before consultation was 12.4 months. The histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma in 90.8% of cases. Surgery was performed in 51 patients (52%). It was a palliative (cleaning) procedure in 92.2% of cases. Chemotherapy was performed in 28 patients. Overall survival was 61.8% at 6 months, 39.5% at 1 year, and 9.2% at 3 years. Median survival was 10 months: 13 months for women with surgery and 6 months for those without it (p<0.001). Necrotic breast cancer is still common in Ouagadougou. Surgery is the mainstay of the treatment. Survival is mediocre. It therefore seems urgent to focus on raising population awareness and organizing screening campaigns.