[Current epidemiology of cancers in Cameroon (Central Africa)]

From 1986 to 1991, about 1,000 cases of cancers were diagnosed histologically every year in Cameroon. During this period, investigations showed that only 1 cancer out of 10 is diagnosed histologically. Thus, nearly 10,000 new cases of cancers are expected yearly in Cameroon where a population of 12,000,000 inhabitants is found leading to an incidence of about 100/100,000. Forty-nine percent of patients are female and 51% males. Twelve per cent of patients are less than 20 years old and 60% are between 40 and 70 years. Liver cancer is at the top of the list of cancers, representing 20%, followed by skin cancer (15%), breast cancer (11%) and cancer of the cervix (11%). For men, liver cancer is the most frequent, while cancers of the breast and uterine cervix predominate in women.