Profile of bone malignancy among rheumatology inpatients in Lomé (Togo)

The incidence of bone malignancy in adulthood seems poorly known in Black Africa.

To determine the epidemiological, clinical, and paraclinical profile of bone malignancy in patients admitted to the Rheumatology Department in Lomé (Togo).

A retrospective study was conducted over 19 years on records of hospital patients admitted for bone malignancy.

One hundred sixty-six of 2018 (8.2%) patients (98 men and 68 women) admitted suffered from bone malignancy. The mean age at admission of those 166 patients was 55 years with extremes of 14 and 98 years. The most affected age group was between 46 and 55 years (40 cases, 24.1%). The mean disease duration was 17 months. These tumors were primitive in 43 cases (26%) and secondary in 123 cases (74%). Metastases were prostate (44 cases, 35.7%), breast (12 cases, 9.7%) bronchi (7 cases, 5.7%), uterus cervix (5.7%), and liver (2 cases, 1.6%). Myeloma (34 cases; 79.0%) and osteosarcoma (9 cases; 20.9%) were the main primary malignant bone tumors. However 41 cases (33.3%) of tumors malignant bone could not be labeled. The spine was the main seat of those tumors.

This study demonstrates the substantial part occupy malignant bone tumors in the musculoskeletal diseases within the Sub-Saharan population in general and in Togo in particular.