Cervical cancer in Morocco: epidemiological profile from two main oncological centers.

BACKGROUND In Morocco, the epidemiological profile of cervical cancer is not well established. The focus of the present study was both epidemiological and pathological characteristics. METHODS For all cases of cervical cancer treated between 2003 and 2007 in the National Institute of Oncology and the Oncology Department of the IbnRochd hospital (Casablanca), 900 cases were randomly selected. RESULTS The mean age was 52.1±11.8 years. The most (90.5%) represented histological type was squamous cell carcinoma. For more than 57.0% cases the mean distance between patient's origin and center of treatment was greater than 100 km. According to the FIGO classification, only 17.2% of patients were identified as being in early stages (0 and I). For 72.2% patients the follow-up did not exceed 2 years. At 1 year of following-up 55.8% of patients were alive and 43.4% were lost to following-up. CONCLUSION Our study addressed the issue of the burden of cervical cancer in Morocco. The result provides a basis for decision-makers for the development of strategic measures to implement the fight against cervical cancer in Morocco.