Epidemiological Profile of Gastrointestinal Cancers in Douala, Littoral Region of Cameroon: A Hospital-Based Retrospective Study, 2016 – 2020

Aim: Cancer is a real public health problem in the world, especially the so-called gastrointestinal cancers (GIC). In Cameroon, epidemiological data on these types of cancers are still poorly known. The present study aimed at determining epidemiological profile GIC in the town of Douala, Cameroon.

Methodology: This was a retrospective study conducted at oncology and gastroenterology departments of two reference hospitals. Sociodemographic, clinical and toxicological information of the patients was recorded and analysed using SPSS version 26.0. The significance level was set at p-value < 0.05 for statistical tests.

Results: During the study period, 479 cases of GIC cases were registered with male-to-female ratio of 1.20. The frequency of GIC cases gradually increased over study period (2016 – 2020). GIC cases were mostly found in patients aged 50-60 years (27.8%) and 60-70 years (27.3%). The main GIC types included colorectal (36.54%), liver (25.26%), stomach (15.24%) and pancreas (12.53%). A gender-specific distribution of all GIC types were found (p = 0.0016). Among men, the distribution of GIC varied with age; the majority of male patients with stomach cancer (54.3%) were aged 50 – 60 years while those diagnosed with colon cancer were mostly aged 50 – 60 years (35.4%) and 60 – 70 years (31.3%) (p = 0.0004). Finally, a statically significant association was found between GIC distribution and alcohol/tobacco consumption.

Conclusion: GIC are realities in Cameroon and mainly affect the population over 30 years old. The knowledge of risk factors in the population would be useful for controlling their evolution in the country.