Amsalu Degu

An assessment of survival outcomes among ovarian cancer patients at the National and Referral Hospital in Kenya

AbstractBackgroundOvarian cancer has been shown to have poor survival outcomes attributed to late presentation. In Kenya, information on the survival outcomes of ovarian cancer patients is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the survival outcomes among patients with ovarian cancer treated at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH).AimsA hospital‐based retrospective cohort study was performed at KNH to examine the survival outcomes of 112 ovarian cancer patients. The study employed a structured data abstraction tool to acquire patients' relevant socio‐demographic and clinical characteristics from the patient's medical records. The data obtained were analyzed using SPSS version 29.0 statistical software. Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression analyses were used to determine the survival outcome and predictors of mortality among ovarian cancer patients, respectively.Methods and resultsThe mean age of the patients in this study was 51.28 ± 14.24 years. Most patients (59.8%) had evidence of distant metastasis during the follow‐up period. One‐third (33%) of patients were deceased. The mean‐cancer‐specific survival time among the study participants was 40.0 ± 3.0 months. The 5‐year survival rate was 44%, with most patients experiencing disease progression during the last follow‐up. Combination therapy (p < .001) was the only statistically significant predictor of mortality in ovarian cancer patients.ConclusionThe study found that the 5‐year survival rate among ovarian cancer patients was poor, with most patients experiencing disease progression during the last follow‐up period.

Assessment of adverse events among cervical cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital

Introduction Due to their cytotoxic nature, anticancer drugs and radiotherapy have the potential to cause toxic adverse events. As a result, they can increase the risk of morbidity and mortality. However, there was a lack of data among cervical cancer patients in our setting. Hence, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of adverse events among cervical cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study design was employed among a consecutive sample of 151 adult cervical cancer patients. The data were collected by reviewing the medical records and interviewing the patients. The data were entered and analyzed using SPSS 27.0 software. The results were presented with frequency tables and graphs. Results A total of 214 adverse events (prevalence of 100%) were identified from 151 patients. The most common adverse events identified were ulcerated sores (52.8%), dysuria (7.5%), thrombocytopenia (5.6%), and loss of appetite (5.6%). The majority of the patients (80.8%) who had adverse events were on radiotherapy. As per the Naranjo causality assessment scale, the predominant (80.1%) proportion of the adverse event was a probable adverse event with a total score of 5–8. Besides, 15.9% of the adverse events had a possible causality. The present study also reported that 61.6% of patients with a probable adverse event were treated with radiotherapy. Conclusion The prevalence of adverse events among cervical patients was high in our setting. The predominant proportion of the adverse event was a probable adverse event and most of them were treated with radiotherapy.

Assessment of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity and its associated factors among cervical cancer patients in the leading tertiary hospital in Kenya

Introduction Cisplatin is the widely used antineoplastic agent in managing cervical cancer despite nephrotoxicity being a major concern. In addition, there was a paucity of data about the degree of nephrotoxicity due to cisplatin in the study setting. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the prevalence of cisplatin nephrotoxicity among cervical patients. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at the Cancer Treatment Centre of Kenyatta National Hospital among 100 cervical cancer patients treated with a cisplatin regimen. Simple random sampling was employed to the recruit medical record of patients. This study used a data abstraction tool to extract the patients' relevant socio-demographic and clinical characteristics. The data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25.0 software. Frequency tables and figures were used to present the findings of the study. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with cisplatin nephrotoxicity. Results The study showed a mean age of 52.09 ± 10.44 years. The prevalence rate of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity in cervical cancer patients was 45%. Of these patients, 36% and 9% patients had grade 1 and 2 nephrotoxicities, respectively. Comorbidities (crude odd's ratio (COR) = 3.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.3–7.02, p = 0.011), hypertension (COR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.1–7.8, p = 0.03), and more than three cycles of cisplatin treatment (adjusted odd's ratio = 4.5, 95% CI = 1.19–17.0, p = 0.027) were significant factors of nephrotoxicity. Conclusion The prevalence of cisplatin-induced nephrotoxicity among cervical cancer patients was high in the study setting. Comorbidities, number of cycles and types of comorbidities were significant factors associated with cisplatin nephrotoxicity.

Health-related quality of life among cervical cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital

Background Previous study showed that health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was adversely affected during treatment of cervical cancer, with a worsening global score. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the HRQoL of cervical cancer patients at Kenyatta National Hospital. Methods A cross-sectional study design was employed among cervical cancer patients. All eligible consecutive samples of 103 cervical cancer patients were included in the study. Following consent, patients were interviewed using The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life Questionnaire 30 (EORTC QLQ-30) and Cervical Cancer Module CX24 (EORTC QLQ-CX24). The data were entered and analyzed using the SPSS version 20.0 software. Univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis was employed to investigate the predictors of HRQoL. A p-value of ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The majority (69%) of the patients had a poor overall quality of life while 31% of study participants had a good quality of life. Patients with early-stage disease were 7.3 times (AOR = 7.3, 95% CI = 2.4–21.7, p = 0.000) more likely to have a good HRQoL than patients with advanced-stage disease. Patients with no comorbidities were 3.1 times (COR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.1–9.1, p = 0.037) more likely to have a good HRQoL than patients with comorbidities. Conclusion The overall HRQoL among cervical cancer patients was poor in the setting. Advanced stage of disease and presence of comorbidities were the significant predictors of poor quality of life.