Current Cancer Reports

Purpose: To describe epidemiological and histopathological features of ocular tumors observed in two ophthalmology departments in Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study and a simple proportion analysis were performed to describe the epidemiological and histopathological characteristics of 103 consecutive anatomical pieces taken after tumor removal from two ophthalmology services in Bukavu city from January 2018 to December 2020.
Results: Children accounted for 40% of patients and ocular tumors were unilateral in 84.5% of cases. The most common locations were the retina (34.8%), conjunctiva (33.7%) and eyelids (22.8%). Benign tumors predominated (51.4%), followed by malignant tumors (37.9%), and undetermined tumors (15.5%). The main histological forms found were retinoblastoma (34.8%), conjunctival nevus (20.6%), and palpebral granuloma (16.3%).
Conclusion: Ocular tumors are common in Bukavu. Histopathological examination remains essential to guide management to reduce the risk of recurrence and related complications.

Purpose: Breast cancer (BC) is the most common malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide. Risk factors for this disease are numerous and their prevalence varies according to racial and ethnic groups and geographical regions. Therefore, we sought to identify BC risk factors in the Congolese population.
Methods: A case-control study was conducted at the Nganda Hospital Center in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. One hundred and sixty patients with breast cancer (cases) were compared to 320 women who did not have BC (controls). STATA version 16 was used to analyze data with statistical significance considered at p < 0.05.
Results: There is a strong association between BC in Congolese women and early menarche age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.3; 95% CI: 1.2-4.3), family history of BC (aOR = 2.5; 95% CI: 1.2-5.5), overweight (aOR = 1.8; 95% CI: 1.1-2.7), and obesity (aOR = 7.3; 95% CI: 4.0-13.4).
Conclusion: Our results indicate the presence of certain conventional risk factors. Thus, these results will be of great value in establishing adequate evidence-based awareness and preventive measures among the Congolese population.

Autoimmune haemolytic anemia is a rare but potentially catastrophic adverse event of im-mune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. We present the case of a gentleman who presented with non-specific symptoms while undergoing adjuvant Nivolumab therapy after potential-ly curative surgery for gastroesophageal cancer. The patient’s haemoglobin deteriorated to 4.7 g/dl with no evidence of bleeding and serologic tests indicative of hemolysis. He re-ceived emergent massive RCC transfusion receiving 9 units of bloods in 1 night, and was commenced on high dose methylprednisolone. During subsequent weeks of inpatient care, the patient continued to received multiple daily red cell transfusions and had a total of 53 RCC transfusions during admission, along with high doses of steroids,4 doses of weekly Rituximab as well as 2 doses of IVIG.While he was discharged on day 38 of admission, he required a slow taper of steroids over 6 months. Immune related hemolytic anemias are a rare corollary of immune check point inhibitors. The cases of immune related AIHA docu-mented in the literature were treated with steroids, Rituximab and IVIG, which are also rec-ommended by guidelines for the treatment of immune related haemolytic anemias.

Breast cancer (BC) is a major health problem with an increasing trend in prevalence and mortality worldwide. It is the most common of female cancers in the world, and thus ranks first in both developed and developing countries. Current knowledge on the epidemiology and biological aspects of breast cancer in women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains insufficient and poorly documented. Given the trend towards urbanization of the Congolese population, it is likely that current data will change in the coming decades, due to a foreseeable change in risk factors for the disease. Therefore, the establishment of a cancer registry is necessary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) health system for better epidemiological monitoring of cancer and surveillance data necessary for the development of cancer control policies and their integration into primary health care. Strategies that include building local capacity in terms of human resources, equipment and technology transfer could lead to new concepts and therapies adapted to the Congolese geographical context.