[Breast cancer in Tunisia: clinical and epidemiological study]

This study has been realized to determine epidemiological profile and clinicopathologic aspect of breast cancer in Tunisia. We have counted and analyzed all cancers of the breast diagnosed in Tunisia with proof pathologic or to defect cytologic of malignancy, between first January 1994 and 31 December 1994. In the course of this year, 689 new cases of mammary cancers have been diagnosed at the women. The average patient age was 50.0 years, the incidence standardized on the age of the cancer of the breast in Tunisia was 16.7/100,000 women. The average size of the tumor was 49.5 mm (35.8 mm at patients processed in private clinics and 50.7 mm at patients processed in the public hospitals). According to TNM classification of 1988, 7.2% of tumors were classified T1, 48.9% T2, 18.5% T3, and 23.4% T4 (6.2% T4d and 16.1% T4b). 22.1% of tumors were M1. 3.3% were in situ carcinoma. For the infiltrants cancers, the grade II SBR has been the most frequent (53.6%). On the therapeutic plan, the conservative processing has been practiced only at 17.6% of patients. The cancer of the breast in Tunisia rest again relatively little frequent, and its clinic profile resides alarming. The inflammatory cancer notion of the breast (equal T4d) intimately linked to Tunisia overestimates probably the reality. Cancers that were classified "PEV" in many publications would be in reality only for most of locally evolved and neglected cancers.