[Breast cancer: diagnostic and therapeutic problems at the Ougadougou University Hospital Center]

A retrospective study on a 4 years period (1991-1994) enabled the authors within the digestive and general surgery of the Ouagadougou Teaching Hospital Center in Burkina Faso to list 39 breast cancers. During the same period, 3788 patients were hospitalized within the service out of which, 120 for mammary tumoral pathology. Patients, most of the time come late and sometimes with very severe and progressive lesions. Mammography and extemporaneous biopsy were not possible. Fine-needle aspiration for cytologic diagnosis practiced in 17% cases revealed to be insufficient. PATEY's mastectomy was done on 59% of patients. As far as chemotherapy is concerned, it is too expensive and inaccessible, only 9 patients have benefitted from this practice. Te histological test on surgical parts retrieved ductal infiltrating carcinoma 61.5%, medullary infiltrating carcinoma 15.3%, comedo-carcinoma infiltrating 5.1%, lobular infiltrating carcinoma 5.1%, papillary carcinoma 5.1%, carcinoma with fibrous stroma 2.5%, undifferentiated carcinoma 2.5%, scirrhous carcinoma 2.5%.