Objective: To determine the factors associated with delayed diagnosis of breast cancer leading to death in the gynecology department of the Sourô Sanou University Hospital Center from January 1st to December 31st, 2025.

Patients and Methods: This was a clinical audit of breast cancer deaths over a 12-month period. All patients with breast cancer confirmed by immunohistochemistry or standard histology who died in the department were included. A total of 12 deaths were recorded.

Results: Of the 53 confirmed cases of breast cancer, 12 deaths were recorded, representing 22.64%. The average age was 32 years, with a range of 26 to 52 years. 85% were women with few children, 90% came from rural areas, 95% were housewives, and 80% of patients had symptoms for more than 6 months. Factors associated with mortality were: lack of knowledge (100%), lack of financial resources (36%), sociocultural practices involving the use of traditional treatments as a first-line approach (53%), and initial misdiagnosis and inadequate therapeutic management (11%). All patients were admitted at stage IV with multiple metastases.

Conclusion: The triad of lack of knowledge, barriers to accessing healthcare (road and financial), and sociocultural practices involving initial recourse to traditional medicine, leading to advanced stages at the first consultation, constitutes the essential factors for late diagnosis and subsequent patient death.

He completed his medical training in 2017, specialising in Gynecology and Obstetrics, and subsequently pursued advanced training in Sickle Cell Disease, achieving an Inter-University Diploma in this field in 2021. Since 2018, he has been engaged in clinical practice at the Department of Gynecology, Obstetrics, and Reproductive Medicine at the Souro Sanou University Hospital Center in Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, where he has been entrusted with the management of the unit of recent surgeries. He is a part-time lecturer in oncology at the Catholic University of West Africa in Bobo-Dioulasso and in gynecology and obstetrics at the National School of Public Health in Bobo-Dioulasso. His interest in community life is evident in his role as the incumbent president of the SHALOM Medical Association, an organisation dedicated to raising awareness and promoting screening for breast and cervical cancer. In addition to his other duties, he is responsible for maternal health activities at the HautsBassins Mother and Child Network (RE ME HBS) in Burkina Faso. In 2024, he was appointed Secretary General for Organization and Information at the Regional Council of the Order of Physicians of Bobo in Burkina Faso. He is an active member of the Society of Gynecology and Obstetrics of Burkina Faso (SOGOB). The focus of his current research is the enhancement of therapeutic interventions for breast and cervical cancer.