Epidemiological and anatomopathological profile of breast cancer in the region of North-West of Tunisia.

introductionBreast cancer is a common and serious disease. It represents the first cause of mortality and morbidity from cancer of Tunisian women and worldwide.

aimTo analyze the clinico-pathological and evolutionary characteristics of the patients followed at the carcinology's pole in the region of the North-West of Tunisia.

methodsWe conducted a retrospective descriptive study of 114 patients, who were diagnosed with non metastatic breast cancers over a 6-year period, from January 2011 to December 2016.

resultsAmong the 289 patients treated in the medical carcinology department of the Jendouba regional hospital for invasive breast carcinoma over a period of 6 years, 114 patients had localized breast carcinoma, they were the subject of our study. The average age was 51 years. Nonspecific invasive cancer was the most frequent histological type (95.6%). The mean histological size was 29.3 mm. SBR grade II was most prevalent. Histological lymph node involvement was observed in 50.9%. Lymphovascular invasion was detected in 23.9% of cases and perineural sheaths was detected in 21.9% of cases. The most common molecular subtype was Luminal B. After discussion in a multidisciplinary concertation meeting, the patients received locoregional treatment: surgery, radiotherapy and systemic treatment: chemotherapy, endocrine hormone therapy. After a median follow-up of 45 months, OS and PFS at 5 years were 85.6% and 79.2% respectively.

conclusionIn the region of the North-West of Tunisia, breast cancer is characterized by its occurrence at a young age, the importance of tumor size, the importance of lymph node involvement, the frequency of inflammatory breast carcinoma and especially by the predominance of the molecular groups Luminal B and HER2 neu.