Background: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women worldwide. The objective of this study was to identify factors associated with late diagnosis of breast cancer in Togolese women.Methods: We conducted a prospective cross-sectional study with descriptive and analytical purposes on cases of breast cancer in women in 2021, in Togo. The patients included in this study were women followed in the gynecology department for stages III and IV breast cancer.Results: We included 62 cases of breast cancer. The average age of the patients was 38.6 ± 12.5 years with extremes of 17 and 76 years. The breast nodule was the most common reason for consultation in 75.8% of cases. The histological types diagnosed were invasive carcinoma of non-specific type (58; 93.55%), mucinous carcinoma (3; 4.84%) and lobular carcinoma (1; 1.61%). For the stage of the cancer, 43 patients were stage III (69.4%) and 19 stage IV (30.6%).In multivariate analysis, the factors associated with late diagnosis of breast cancer were: fear of diagnosis (aOR = 1.29;p = 0.0014), long delay in diagnosis (aOR = 2.62;p = 0.0001) and failure to perform breast self-examination (aOR = 1.68;p = 0.0022).Conclusion: The fear of the diagnosis, the absence of self-examination of the breasts and the use of traditional treatment and self-medication in first intention constituted the essential factors of the late diagnosis of breast cancer. Strategies should be put in place at the national level to impact on these factors for an early diagnosis of breast cancer.

The purpose of this study was to study the epidemiological and clinical profile of adolescents with suicidal thoughts, with or without suicide attempts, and to identify associated factors. A total of 155 (16.5%) of the 941 adolescents interviewed had suicidal thoughts. The average age of the respondents was 18 ± 2.1 years. The sex ratio (m/f) was 1.4. With regard to marital status, 70.2% were single and 29.8% were in a relationship with a cohabiting partner. Family history of suicide was reported in 40%. In their personal history, eight were infected with HIV, three were chronic ethylic and two were diabetics. Forty-six (29.7%) of the 155 adolescents who had suicidal ideation had ever had a suicide attempt. Teens affected by suicide lived in a boarding school in 25.8%, with one parent in 23.9% and 50.3% with both parents. Factors associated with suicide attempts were female sex (p = 0.0107), age over 18 years (p = 0.0177), living in a couple (p = 0.0316), underlying immunodepression (HIV infection, p = 0.0059, sickle cell disease, p = 0.0043) and having a family history of suicides (p = 0.0461).

Our study aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical, and diagnostic aspects of African histoplasmosis in Togo through a descriptive and cross-sectional study on histological diagnosed African histoplasmosis in Pathology Department of Lomé from 2002 to 2016 (15 years). A total of 17 cases of African histoplasmosis were diagnosed. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1.8. The annual incidence was 1.1 cases. The mean age of the patients was 27.2 ± 0.4 years. All our patients were of social categories with a low socioeconomic level. HIV infection was known in 3 patients and one patient contracted tuberculosis. The clinical manifestations were cutaneous in 7 cases, cutaneous and mucous in 3 cases, cutaneous and lymph node in 3 cases, cutaneous and bone in 2 cases, and disseminated in 2 cases. The samples examined consisted of 14 cutaneous biopsies measuring 2-3 cm and 3 ganglionic biopsies each measuring 4 cm of major axis. Histologically, all cases were of chronic form made of granulomatous reaction with ovoid yeasts measuring between 1 and 2 microns. Despite the low frequency of this disease in our country, it should be kept constantly in mind before any granulomatous lesions, especially in the context of the HIV pandemic.

Mycetoma is a chronic inflammatory process caused either by fungi (eumycetoma) or bacteria (actinomycetoma). In this retrospective study, we report epidemiologic and histopathological data of mycetoma observed in the Lome Hospital, Togo in a 25-year period (1992-2016). This is a retrospective study, over a period of 25 years, to analyze epidemiological and etiological findings of mycetomas seen in the single laboratory of pathological anatomy of the Lomé, Togo. A total of 61 cases were retrieved from which only 33 cases were included which where clinically and microbiologically confirmed. The mean age of the patients was 29.7 ± 1.34 and a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.5. The majority of patients were farmers (n = 23 cases; 69.7%). Diagnosed etiologic agents were fungal in 24 cases (72.7%) and actinomycotic cases in 9 cases (27.3%). The fungal mycetomas consisted of Madurella mycetomatis (black grains) and Falcifomispora senegaliensis (black grains). The actinomycotic agents were represented by Actinomadura madurae (white grains), Actinomadurae pelletieri (red grains) and Nocardia sp. (yellow grains). This report represents a single-center study which provides epidemiologic and histopathological data of mycetoma cases in Togo.

Background: Cancer is a global public health problem. According to World Report on Cancer in 2000, developing countries are becoming increasingly affected. Methods: This retrospective and descriptive 8-year study of all histological confirmed cancers was conducted using data from the anatomical pathology laboratory registry of Togo’s only laboratory. The parameters were frequency, site and histological type as well as age and gender. Results: We found 1,738 cancers in patients aged from 4 months to 109 years (mean, 50.4 ± 4. The sex ratio (M/F) was 1.3. The most frequent localizations of the cancers were the prostate (10.3%) followed by the breast (9.9%), the stomach (8.4%) and the cervix (7.2%). In women, the median age was 47.4 ± 2.9 years, and the most common cancers were breast cancer (21.2%), followed by cervical cancer (16.3%). In men, the median age was 53.2 ± 7.3 years and the most frequent cancers were prostate cancer (18.5%), non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (13.2%) and stomach cancer (10.7%). In children, Burkitt’s lymphoma (41.8%), retinoblastoma (11.6%) and nephroblastoma (9.6%) were the most important cancers. Conclusion: Cancers are frequent in Togo, those of the prostate, breast and cervix being most important with a worse prognosis. Emphasis should be placed on early detection and diagnosis.

Background. In the sub-Saharan African, region of the world with a fast growing aging population and where the use of herbal products is very common, there is a paucity of data on medication consumption patterns among elderly people. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of polypharmacy and its associated factors among community-dwelling elderly in Lomé, Togo, in 2017. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to June 2017 in Lomé, Togo among people aged 60 years and older. The Respondent Driven Sampling method was used to recruit participants. Data on socio-demographic characteristics and medication consumption patterns, including the use of medicinal plants and dietary supplements, were collected using a standardized questionnaire during a face-to-face interview at participants’ home. Descriptive and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Results. A total of 370 participants with median age 65 years, (IQR: 62–71) were enrolled in the study. Almost three elderly in five (57.6%) were multimorbid (had two or more chronic diseases). Conventional drugs (78.4%), medicinal plants (14.3%) and other dietary supplements (9.5%) were used by participants. The prevalence of polypharmacy was 22.7% (95% CI: 18.5–27.3%). Concurrent use of conventional drugs and medicinal plants or other dietary supplements was observed among 17.0% of participants and 67.3% reported self-medication. Multimorbidity (aOR = 4.55; 95% CI: [2.42–8.54]) and female sex (aOR = 1.86; 95% CI: [1.00–3.47]) were associated with polypharmacy. Conclusion. One elderly in five uses five or more medications in Togo. Further studies are needed to assess drug-drug interactions and herb-drug interactions among this population.