Pancreatic head cancer in Cameroon: clinical epidemiology and survival. A retrospective study of 105 cases

Backround: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most challenging tumour worldwide, associated with a poor prognosis even in developed countries. To the best of our knowledge, there is no recent data available on pancreatic cancer in our country, Cameroon. Methods: We conducted a retrospective descriptive multicentre study in the city of Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. Patients with a diagnosis of pancreatic head cancer, over a 6 year period from January 2012 to December 2017, were included. Results: We recorded 105 patients with a mean age of 55.61 years. There were 57 men (54.3%) and 48 women (45.7%). The commonest risk factor found in our patients was heavy alcohol use (n=46, 43.8%). The mean time from symptoms onset to diagnosis was 3 months. Jaundice was present in 91.4% of patients. At the time of diagnosis, the pancreatic head cancer was locally advanced or metastatic in 19% (n=20) and 47.6% (n=50) of cases respectively. Metastases were hepatic in 70% of cases. Histological type was obtained in 35 patients (33.3%) and it was a ductal adenocarcinoma in 33 of them. Only two patients out of the 105 identified (1.9%) were able to have a curative treatment (cephalic duodenopancreatectomy). All patients died during the 15 months following the diagnosis with a mean survival time of 2.5 months. Conclusion: Pancreatic head cancer is diagnosed at advanced stages in our environment and its prognosis is grim. Emphasis should therefore be placed on prevention and early detection.