Nontuthuzelo I. M. Somdyala

Ovarian cancer survival in sub‐Saharan Africa by human development index and histological subtypes: A population‐based registry study

AbstractOvarian cancer (OC) is the fourth most common cancer of women in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), although few data have been published on population‐level survival. We estimate ovarian cancer survival in SSA by human development index and histological subtype, using data from seven population‐based cancer registries in six countries: Kenya (Nairobi and Eldoret), Mauritius, Uganda (Kampala), Cote d'Ivoire (Abidjan), Ethiopia (Addis Ababa) and South Africa (Eastern Cape). A total of 644 cases diagnosed during 2008–2014 were included, with 77% being of epithelial subtypes (range 47% [Abidjan]—80% [Mauritius]). The overall observed survival in the study cohort was 73.4% (95% CI: 69.8, 77.0) at 1 year, 54.4% (95% CI: 50.4, 58.7) at 3 years and 45.0% (95% CI: 41.0, 49.4) at 5 years. Relative survival at Year 1 ranged from 44.4% in Kampala to 86.3% in Mauritius, with a mean for the seven series of 67.4%. Relative survival was highest in Mauritius at 72.2% and lowest in Kampala, Uganda at 19.5%, with a mean of 47.8%. There was no difference in survival by age at diagnosis. Patients from high and medium HDI countries had significantly better survival than those from low HDI countries. Women with cancers of epithelial cell origin had much lower survival compared to women with other histological subtypes (p = .02). Adjusted for the young age of the African patients with ovarian cancer (44% aged <50) survival is much lower than in USA or Europe, and underlines the need for improvements in the access to diagnosis and treatment of OC in SSA.

Trends in the incidence of ovarian cancer in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractOvarian cancer (OC) is one of the commonest cancers of women in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA), although to date no data have been available on time trends in incidence to better understand the disease pattern in the region. We estimate time trends by histological subtype from 12 population‐based cancer registries in 11 countries: Kenya (Nairobi), Mauritius, Seychelles, Uganda (Kampala), Congo (Brazzaville), Zimbabwe (Bulawayo and Harare), Cote d'Ivoire (Abidjan), The Gambia, Mali (Bamako), Nigeria (Ibadan) and South Africa (Eastern Cape). The selected registries were those that could provide consistent estimates of the incidence of ovarian cancer and with quality assessment for periods of 10 or more years. A total of 5423 cases of OC were included. Incidence rates have been increasing in all registries except Brazzaville, Congo, where a nonsignificant decline of 1% per year was seen. Statistically significant average annual increases were seen in Mauritius (2.5%), Bamako (5.3%), Ibadan (3.9%) and Eastern Cape (8%). Epithelial ovarian cancer was responsible for the increases observed in all registries. Statistically significant average annual percentage changes (AAPC) for epithelial OC were present in Bamako (AAPC = 5.9%), Ibadan (AAPC = 4.7%) and Eastern Cape (AAPC = 11.0%). Creating awareness among professionals of the growing importance of the disease is surely an important step to improving availability of, and access to, diagnosis and treatment of OC in SSA. Support must be given to the cancer registries to improve the availability of good‐quality data on this important cancer.

Cervical cancer survival in sub‐Saharan Africa by age, stage at diagnosis and Human Development Index: A population‐based registry study

AbstractCervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in African women. We sought to estimate population‐based survival and evaluate excess hazards for mortality in African women with cervical cancer, examining the effects of country‐level Human Development Index (HDI), age and stage at diagnosis. We selected a random sample of 2760 incident cervical cancer cases, diagnosed in 2005 to 2015 from 13 population‐based cancer registries in 11 countries (Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe) through the African Cancer Registry Network. Of these, 2735 were included for survival analyses. The 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year observed and relative survival were estimated by registry, stage and country‐level HDI. We used flexible Poisson regression models to estimate the excess hazards for death adjusting for age, stage and HDI. Among patients with known stage, 65.8% were diagnosed with Stage III‐IV disease. The 5‐year relative survival for Stage I‐II cervical cancer in high HDI registry areas was 67.5% (42.1‐83.6) while it was much lower (42.2% [30.6‐53.2]) for low HDI registry areas. Independent predictors of mortality were Stage III‐IV disease, medium to low country‐level HDI and age >65 years at cervical cancer diagnosis. The average relative survival from cervix cancer in the 11 countries was 69.8%, 44.5% and 33.1% at 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively. Factors contributing to the HDI (such as education and a country's financial resources) are critical for cervical cancer control in SSA and there is need to strengthen health systems with timely and appropriate prevention and treatment programmes.