Breast Cancer among Young Women in Douala, Cameroon: Epidemiological, Clinical, Behavioural Characteristics and Risk Factors

Aims: This study aimed at determining epidemiological, clinical, behavioural and risk factors for breast cancer (BC) among young women living in Cameroon.
Study Design: Cross-sectional case-control study.
Place and Duration of Study: The study took place at the Oncology departments of two reference hospitals in Douala (Littoral Region, Cameroon), from July 2020 to July 2021.
Methodology: An ad hoc questionnaire form was used to collect data of interest. Anthropometric and bioimpedance parameters were measured. The data were keyed, coded, verified for consistency, and analysed using StatView v5.0 and GraphPad Prism v5.03. Statistical significance was set at P < .05.
Results: Of the 276 women initially approached, 176 (88 cases and 88 controls) were finally recruited. They were mainly aged 41-45 years old with higher proportion in controls (40.9% vs 45.4%, P = .0029). The proportion of women having had their menarche at advanced age was higher in cases compared to controls (40.9% vs 12.5%, P < .0001). Visceral adipose tissue (Kg) was significantly higher in cases (8.72 ± 3.04 vs 7.43 ± 2.64, P = .003). Most of the patients were diagnosed at advanced stage, especially at stage 3 (46.6%), with more than one third of them had metastasis. The risk of BC was reduced by 84% (AOR = 0.16, P = .001) in patients having had their menarche after 14 years of age, and 71% (AOR = 0.29, P = .01) in those always consuming fruits/vegetables. In contrast, BC risk was increased in women with familial history of BC (AOR = 3.19, P = .04). Early and late diagnosed BC women had similar characteristics with the exception of age, stillbirth and body mass index.
Conclusion: BC is prevalent and detected among young women at advanced stage, with protective role of fruits/vegetables consumption and late age of menarche.