Multicentre Management of Prostate Cancer in Mali

Introduction: Prostate cancer has become the most frequent cancer in men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths after lung cancer. The objective of this study was to describe the epidemiological and therapeutic aspects of prostate cancer from the urology departments of the four (4 ) University Teaching Hospitals (UTHs) in Mali.

Patients and Methods: This was a multicentre prospective study carried out in the four University Teaching Hospitals in Mali. These were University Teaching Hospitals with a urology department, and these correspond to all the urology departments located within Bamako, the capital of Mali. The study was carried out over a period of 6 months (from January to June 2018) on the cases of prostate cancer confirmed on histopathology. We have developed a survey sheet validated by all of the departments which made it possible to collect data during the study period.

Results: A total of 52 cases of prostate cancer ie 54.9% was referred to us by health personnel. The PSA was >100 ng/ml in 24 patients ie 46.15 ng/ml and represented the most frequent presenting complaint with 34.61%, giving a mean of 139.58 ng/ml and a standard deviation of 167.527. 86.52% of patients had hormone therapy ; 2 underwent radical prostatectomy ie 3.84%. 34.6% and 32.7% of patients were respectively managed at Point G and Luxembourg University Teaching Hospitals.

Conclusion: This is the first multicentre study on prostate cancer in Mali and the patients were diagnosed late. Hormone therapy was the mostly used treatment modality, considering the lack of screening and management of localised forms by urologists.

Keywords: Prostate cancer, multicentre, Mali.