Anorectal tumors in N’Djamena: Epidemiological and diagnostic Aspects

Introduction: Anorectal tumors are increasingly common in gastroenterology and general surgery consultations. Anorectoscopy combined with histology is the cornerstone of diagnosis. The aim of this study is to describe the epidemiological and diagnostic aspects of anorectal cancers in hospitals in N'Djamena. 

Patients and methods: This was a retrospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study spanning 10 years. The digestive endoscopy unit and the pathological anatomy and cytology unit of the CHU-RN served as our framework. Data was collected from the registers of anorectoscopy reports and pathological anatomy and cytology reports. All usable reports were included. Sphinx and SPSS version 23 software were used for data analysis. 

Results: A total of 948 anorectoscopies were performed, of which 842 showed lesions (88.8%). Endoscopic lesions suspected of malignancy were found in 7.9% of cases (n=67) and ranked fourthth place after hemorrhoidal disease (46.7%), anorectitis (26.2%), and anal fissures (12.8%). These lesions included rectal tumors (4.6%) and anal tumors (3.3%). Of the 67 cases, 33 were confirmed by histological examination. The histological type was adenocarcinoma in 84.8% (n=28) of cases. The mean age of patients was 34 ± 10.6 years, with extremes of 18 and 84 years. There was a male predominance (n=22) with a sex ratio of 2. Hematochesia was the most common indication in 52.9% of cases, followed by proctalgia (41.7%). Ulcerative rectal masses were predominant on lower digestive endoscopy (81.8%). 

Conclusion: Anorectal tumors are becoming increasingly common and represent a major health problem due to their growing frequency, the fact that they are often diagnosed late in our context, and the lack of adequate treatment options.