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. 2023 Jan 26:12:1025757.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2022.1025757. eCollection 2022.

Libyan cancer patients at King Hussein Cancer Center for more than a decade, the current situation, and a future vision

Madiha Erashdi  1 , Abdallah Al-Ani  2 , Asem Mansour  3 , Maysa Al-Hussaini  3
Affiliations

Libyan cancer patients at King Hussein Cancer Center for more than a decade, the current situation, and a future vision

Madiha Erashdi et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Background: Since 2011, the Libyan civil war crisis had affected all dimensions of livelihood including cancer care. This has resulted in a steady incline in the number of Libyan patients with cancer seeking oncologic care and management in Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, among others. King Hussein Cancer Center (KHCC) has been one of the main destinations for Libyan patients with cancer for more than a decade.

Aim: We are reporting on the characteristics of Libyan patients with cancer presenting to KHCC during the past fourteen years.

Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review of all Libyan patients with cancer presenting to KHCC between 2006 and 2019.

Results: A total of 3170 records were included in the final analysis. The overall sample was predominantly adults (71%) with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.2. Overall, the most common referred cancers to KHCC were breast (21%), hematolymphoid (HL) (17%), and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) (16.2%) cancers. Breast cancer was the most common among adult females (41.7%), GIT among adult males (23.6%), and HL among pediatrics (38.5%). Around 37.8% of patients presented with distant metastasis at their first encounter at KHCC, among which 14.7% were candidates for palliative care.

Conclusion: The sustenance of treatment for Libyan patients with cancer requires extensive collaboration between governmental and private sectors. The Libyan oncological landscape could benefit from national screening and awareness programs, twining programs and telemedicine, introduction of multidisciplinary boards, and the formulation of a national cancer registry. Adopting the successful models at KHCC can help to augment the oncology services within the Libyan healthcare sector.

Keywords: King Hussein Cancer Center; Libyan cancer patients; awareness; breast; gastrointestinal tract; hematolymphoid; screening programs.

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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
Trend of referral of Libyan patients with cancer between 2006 and 2019. Number of cases (n=3170) had significantly increased after the first the Libyan civil war in 2011. A surge of cases coincided with the Libyan Ministry of Health and KHCC treatment agreement signed in 2017.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Libyan patients with cancer age distribution.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Gender-based stratification of adult tumors.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Stage-wise stratification of patients according to (A) the 2018 version of Summary Stage and (B) the 6th, 7th and 8th editions of the AJCC TNM staging system.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Comparison of treatment options offered to patients before and after referral to KHCC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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