Challenges of anticancer chemotherapy in Africa

Abstract

Background: Cancer patients in Africa face unique challenges beyond the issues of disease pathology and treatment. Most patients present in advance stages beyond hopes of a cure and their management is confounded by complex socioeconomic and cultural issues unique to underdeveloped countries.

Methods: Critical assessment of the state of cancer care in Africa with focus on the management of advanced stages of the disease. The impact of a shortage of resources, difficulty with access to care and cultural attitudes that impact on the ability to provide state-of-the-art therapies are reviewed.

Results: In contrast to AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, malignancies kill more patients than all three of these high profile infectious diseases combined. The lack of adequate social and economic resources results in direct limitation on the effectiveness of care in many African nations.

Conclusions: Effective cancer treatment strategies in Africa need to focus on providing basic care, making efforts to diagnose cancers earlier, making treatments more accessible and affordable, promoting research that is more applicable to local conditions in an African setting, and striving for public health initiatives that will benefit the vast majority of patients with advanced-stage disease.