We report the findings of a 3-year retrospective study aimed at describing the epidemiological, clinical, anatomical and pathological profile of cervical cancers in an African country. We studied 46 cases of invasive cervical cancer. This type of cancer accounts for 31.7% of female genital cancers. The mean waiting time for a consultation was 7 +/- 2.4 months. The average age of the patients was 48 +/- 3.7 years. They were mostly women who had had several pregnancies without paid work. The main reasons for seeking medical help were metrorrhagia (95.6%), pelvic pain (58.7%) and purulent discharge (45.6%). In 89.1% of the cases, the cancer was inoperable. Pathology results were available in 37 cases. We found 36 cases (97.3%) of epidermoid carcinoma and a single case (2.7%) of adenocarcinoma. There were associated condylomatous lesions in 21.6% of cases. These results demonstrate the importance of making cervical smear tests a routine part of medical examination and of making the public aware of the importance of screening for cervical cancer.