Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jun 2:10:880789.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.880789. eCollection 2022.

Breast Cancer Survival in Eastern Region of Ghana

Paddy Ssentongo  1 , John S Oh  2 , Forster Amponsah-Manu  3 , William Wong  2 , Xavier Candela  2 , Yubraj Acharya  4 , Anna E Ssentongo  1   2 , Daleela G Dodge  2
Affiliations

Breast Cancer Survival in Eastern Region of Ghana

Paddy Ssentongo et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Objective: Five-year overall survival rate of breast cancer in low-income countries (LICs) is significantly lower than in high-resource countries. This study explored clinical and pathological factors influencing mortality in the Eastern region of Ghana.

Methods: We performed a retrospective medical chart review for patients undergoing surgery and chemotherapy for breast cancer at a regional hospital in Ghana from January 2014 to January 2017. Descriptive and survival analysis was done.

Results: One hundred and twenty-nine patients were included in the study. The median age at presentation was 51 years. Sixty percent of patients presented with poorly differential histological grade III. The most common histological type was invasive ductal carcinoma (83%). Based on stage assessment using only tumor size and lymph node status, 60% presented at stage 3. Only 25% were tested for hormone receptor proteins and HER2 status. Of these, 57% had triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). The 3-year overall survival rate was only 52%.

Conclusion: The cumulative 3-year survival was 52%. Despite success in reducing cancer mortality in northern Africa, survival in sub-Saharan Africa remains poor. A significantly higher percentage of GIII and TNBC is found in breast cancers seen in Ghana. When combined with limited capacity for accurate diagnosis, cancer subtype analysis, adequate therapy, and follow-up, late-stage presentation leads to poor outcomes. Future studies should emphasize the identification of barriers to care and opportunities for cost-effective and sustainable improvements in diagnosing and treating breast cancer in LICs.

Keywords: Africa; Ghana; breast cancer; epidemiology; survival.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Age of patients presenting with breast cancer. Approximately 76% of Patients were between 30 and 60 years.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Percent of patients presenting with each grade type. Approximately 60% of patients presented with grade three tumors.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Histological type of Breast Cancer. Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) accounted for approximately 57% of cases.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Survival stratified by grade type. Three-year survival was approximately 50%.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Birnbaum JK, Duggan C, Anderson BO, Etzioni R. Early detection and treatment strategies for breast cancer in low-income and upper middle-income countries: a modelling study. Lancet Glob Health. (2018) 6:e885–93. 10.1016/S2214-109X(18)30257-2 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ssentongo P, Lewcun JA, Candela X, Ssentongo AE, Kwon EG, Ba DM, et al. . Regional, racial, gender, and tumor biology disparities in breast cancer survival rates in Africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PloS ONE. (2019) 14:1–17. 10.1371/journal.pone.0225039 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olecki EJ, Ssentongo P, Dao J, Wong WG, Stahl KA, Ofosu-Akromah R, et al. . Burden of cancer in the general surgical population in the eastern region of Ghana. BMJ Open. (2022) 12:e051741. 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051741 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cubasch H, Dickens C, Joffe M, Duarte R, Murugan N, Tsai Chih M, et al. . Breast cancer survival in Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa: a receptor-defined cohort of women diagnosed from 2009 to 11. Cancer Epidemiol. (2018) 52:120–7. 10.1016/j.canep.2017.12.007 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gakwaya A, Kigula-Mugambe JB, Kavuma A, Luwaga A, Fualal J, Jombwe J, et al. . Cancer of the breast: 5-year survival in a tertiary hospital in Uganda. Br J Cancer. (2008) 99:63. 10.1038/sj.bjc.6604435 - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Substances