[Epidemiological and pathological aspects of the gynecological and mammary cancers in Togo].

Objective: Gynecologic and mammary cancers occupy a prominent place in female tumor pathology. The purpose of this report is to describe aspects of these cancers in Togo.

Material and methods: This retrospective and descriptive study includes all gynecologic and mammary cancers diagnosed between 1987 and 2006 in the pathology laboratory of Tokoin University Hospital in Lomé, Togo.

Results: During the study period, 882 gynecologic and mammary cancers were diagnosed. Breast cancer accounted for 440 cases (49.88%). The most common gynecologic cancer locations were the cervix in 212 cases (24.03%) and uterine corpus in 108 cases (12.25%). Mean patient age was 48.3 years overall, 48,6 years for breast cancer and 49 years for cervical cancer. In almost all cases, cancer was diagnosed at an invasive stage.

Conclusion: Gynecologic and mammary cancers are common in Togo and most cases are diagnosed at a late stage. An epidemiological monitoring program is needed.