[Colorectal Cancers In Two Hospitals In Cotonou From 2013 To 2023: Epidemiological, Diagnostic, Therapeutic And...

the increasing incidence and high mortality rate of colorectal cancers (CRC) make them a major public health concern in developing countries. We aimed to study the epidemiological, diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic aspects of CRC from 2013 to 2023 in the main services caring for digestive cancers in Cotonou.

this was a descriptive, analytical and retrospective study involving patients with CRC treated in specialized services in Cotonou (CU-CV, CU-MI, CU-HGE, CCC).

a total of 194 cases of CRC were recorded out of 13,857 patients (1.4%) seen during the study period. The median age was 53 years with an interquartile range of [40-64] years. The sex-ratio was 1.3; the median duration of evolution before diagnosis was 8.4 months with an interquartile range of [5-12.1] months. Constipation (78.8%), abdominal pain (71.5%), and hematochezia (61.8%) were the most frequent signs. Palliative chemotherapy with the FOLFOX protocol was the most commonly used (68.8%). The median overall survival was 22.5 mouths, and the 5-year survival rate was 5%. Predictive factors for mortality where the duration of evolution before diagnosis (p<0,001), the World health Organization performance status (p<0,01), and the absence of chemotherapy (p=0,026).

CRC have a very poor prognosis in Cotonou. Early diagnosis and management could improve patient survival.