Breast Cancer: Knowledge, Attitudes on Risk Factors and Means of Screening by Medical Students from Lomé, Togo

Background: Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in women around the world. The objective of this study was to assess knowledge and attitudes about breast cancer screening among students in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Lomé. Methods: This was a prospective descriptive transversal study conducted among students enrolled in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FSS) of the University of Lomé (UL) in the 2019 school year account 2020. The purpose of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitudes of medical students about breast cancer screening. Results: In total, the questionnaire was completed by 934 students, for a response rate of 57.1%. The most frequently mentioned risk factors were the presence of a family history of breast cancer (n = 799, 85.55%) and the use of oral or injectable contraceptives (n = 606, 64.88%). There is a statistically significant link between the participants’ knowledge of the self-examination and clinical examination of the breasts and certain socio-demographic characteristics, namely age (OR = 0.2, 95% CI [0.11 - 0.75], p-value < 0.0001), the level of study (OR = 1.5, 95% CI [0.55 - 2.46], p-value = 0.0054), the follow-up of a course on breast cancer (OR = 2.63, 95% CI [0.32 - 4.33], p-value = 0.009) and the effectiveness of an internship in a gynecology-obstetrics department (OR = 0.77, 95% CI [0.49 - 2.56], p-value < 0.0001). Similarly, there is a statistically significant link between participants’ knowledge of mammography and certain socio-demographic characteristics, namely age (OR = 0.75, 95% CI [0.50 - 0.84], p-value = 0.0005), the level of study (OR = 1.92, 95% CI [1.11 - 3.46], p-value < 0.0001), the follow-up of a course or training on breast cancer (OR = 2.44, 95% CI [0.08 - 3.91], p-value < 0.0001) and the effectiveness of an internship in a gynecology-obstetrics department (OR = 0.62, 95% CI [0.33 - 0.85], p-value < 0.0001). Conclusion: Knowledge and attitudes related to breast cancer screening have been found to be generally satisfactory to medical students. Active measures are needed to develop educational programs for health personnel, which could enable them to disseminate knowledge and positively influence patient attitudes.

Evaluation of Knowledge of Medical Students of University of Lomé(Togo) on the Contribution of Prostate Biopsy in the Detection of Prostate Cancer

Background: Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of death from cancer in humans in most developed countries. In Togo, around 59.8% of prostate cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage because of the insufficient screening in connection with the recent introduction of prostate biopsy and the late generalization of PSA (prostate specific antigen). Objective: This study aimed to assess the knowledge of students from the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Lomé on the contribution of prostate biopsy in the diagnosis of prostate cancer. Results: A total of 1017 students filled out the form, with an overall response rate of 95.3%. The range age of the subjects was 24.5 years, and a sex ratio (M/F) of 2.51. The majority of students were license (546, 53.69%). Five hundred and eighty-one (57.13%) of the students had not received any training in prostate cancer. Five hundred and eighty-two students (57.23%) had no knowledge of prostate biopsy. There is a statistically significant link between students’ knowledge of the prostate biopsy and age (OR 1, 95% CI [0.49 - 2.03], p = 0.0001), sex (OR 1, 95% CI [0.33 - 1.08], p = 0.0003), the study cycle (OR 2.5, 95% CI [1.02 - 5.06], p = 0.0047) and the effectiveness of an internship in urology department (OR 1, 95% CI [0.61 - 1.31], p < 0.0001). Conclusion: Medical students have little knowledge of the place of biopsy in the detection of prostate cancer. Educational efforts should focus on improving their knowledge so that they can make appropriate decisions in the future.