Author(s)

Jean Dupont Kemfang Ngowa^1,2*, Angèle Kabeyene³, Richard Ngarvounsia¹, Etienne Atenguena⁴, Yvan Sinclair Ngaha Tchawe¹, Anny Ngassam¹, Christiane Nsahlai¹, Junie Metogo¹, Jovanny Fouogue Tsuala⁵, Pierre Marie Tebeu¹

¹Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
²Yaoundé General Hospital, Obstetrics/Gynecology Unit, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
³Department of Pathology, Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Yaoundé I, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
⁴Yaoundé General Hospital, Medical Oncology Unit, Yaoundé, Cameroon.
⁵Department of Obstetrics/Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.

Introduction: Breast cancer is often diagnosed at an advanced stage in Cameroon. The objective was to analyse consultation, diagnosis and treatment delays for breast cancer among patients followed up at the Yaoundé General Hospital (YGH) in Cameroon. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out from the files of patients followed up for breast cancer at the YGH from January 1, 2014 to April 30, 2018. A total of 183 patients were included. We measured time elapsed between the awareness of first signs of disease and the initial consultation (consultation delays), time lapse between the initial consultation and pathological diagnosis of breast cancer (diagnosis delays), interval between pathological diagnosis and treatment onset (treatment delays), time elapsed between the initial consultation and management (health system delays) and time elapsed from awareness of first signs of disease to treatment onset (overall delays). Results: The delays (median, IIQ) were: (5.1 months; IIQ: 1.7 - 12.4), (25 days; IIQ: 10 - 67), (27 days; IIQ: 13 - 63), (2.2 months; IIQ: 1.2 - 5.8) and (9.9 months; IIQ: 4.4 - 17.6) respectively for consultation, diagnosis, treatment, health system and overall delays. The risks associated with a delay in initial consultation of greater than 3 months were (OR; 95% CI): unschooled patients (2.01; 1.66 - 2.40); monthly income below the minimum wage (2.70; 1.81 - 5.96); unemployment (2.14; 1.02 - 3.24) and absence of a family history of cancer (2.44; 1.66 - 6.10). The main reasons for a late first consultation were: ignorance (60.2%), financial challenges (17.6%) and a preference for alternative treatment (11.1%). Conclusion: The consultation, diagnosis and treatment delays for breast cancer are very often long in our setting than those reported in developed countries. Both patients’ and institutional factors are demonstrated. There is a need to increase public awareness on the value of early diagnosis of breast cancer. Also, health system should be improved to enable early diagnosis and treatment of this affection.

Breast Cancer, Delay in Consultation, Delay in Diagnosis, Delay in Treatment

Ngowa, J. , Kabeyene, A. , Ngarvounsia, R. , Atenguena, E. , Tchawe, Y. , Ngassam, A. , Nsahlai, C. , Metogo, J. , Tsuala, J. and Tebeu, P. (2020) Consultation, Diagnosis and Treatment Delays for Breast Cancer among Patients Followed up at the Yaoundé General Hospital, Cameroon. Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 10, 1580-1589. doi: 10.4236/ojog.2020.10110142.