PURPOSE Breast cancer (BC) is the leading malignancy among Sudanese women. Yet, data on survival are limited. This study aimed to determine 5-year overall survival (OS) of BC in Sudanese women, and identify prognostic demographic and clinicopathologic factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS A hospital-based retrospective study was conducted by reviewing data of women with BC diagnosed and treated at the National Cancer Institute—University of Gezira during 2012, and followed up to end of August 2018. Data were retrieved from medical records and analyzed, OS was determined, and the prognostic factors were explored. RESULTS A total of 225 cases were recruited. The median age at presentation was 45 years (range, 22-85 years). Clinical stage I, II, III, and IV represented 3.1%, 31.6%, 48%, and 17.3%, respectively. Most women (81.3%) were treated with curative intent. Of those, 25.1% received neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Mastectomy was the commonest (61.7%) type of surgery. The median follow-up period was 59.8 months with mean OS time of 55.7 months. The 5-year cumulative survival rate was 58%. The 5-year OS rates for stages I, II, III, and IV were 71.5%, 82.4%, 56.5%, and 8.4%, respectively. For lymph node (LN)-positive cases, 5-year OS rate was 63% and for LN-negative was 83.5%. Presenting with advanced-stage disease and positive LN status associated with short OS times ( P < .005). CONCLUSION OS of women with BC in Central Sudan is worse than in the developed world, but similar to African countries. Our findings indicate that advanced stage at diagnosis and lymph nodal involvement are strong predictors of short survival times. Raising awareness and introducing early detection programs are critical for better survival of these patients.

Background: Clinical pharmacy services are an emerging specialty in Sudan. Many tools exist to document drug-related problems (DRP), such as the Pharmaceutical Care Network Europe (PCNE) classification. However, none has been attempted and published in Sudan. Objectives: The study aimed to identify the DRP and its characteristics in real hospital setting using non-modified version of PCNE. Method: Prospective study of clinical pharmacists' interventions during the routine care work of reviewing patients over a period from December 2020 to February 2021 at the wards of National Cancer Institute, University of Gezira, Sudan. Main outcome measure Using non-modified PCNE version 9.1 to identify the number, types, causes of the DRP, clinical pharmacists' interventions, acceptance, and outcomes. Results: Five minutes (range, 3-15 minutes) was the median time spent for evaluation and intervention by the clinical pharmacists, a total of 51 DRP were discovered among 40 patients with an average of 1.3 DRP per patient, an adverse drug event (possibly) occurring (29.4%) was the main problem, no or incomplete drug treatment (27.5%) was the main causes, above one-third of the clinical pharmacists' interventions were proposed to the prescriber, these interventions were accepted in 96% and fully implemented among 72.5% of the cases. At the end of the process, the majority of DRP (72.5%) were totally solved. Conclusion: Non-modified PCNE version 9.1 provides a suitable tool for the DRP process for Sudanese clinical pharmacists during routine work in the oncology setting. It hence can be considered as an optimal tool for further quality and policymaking.

Background Five-medication regimen is recommended for patients after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) as a secondary prevention strategy at discharge to reduce recurrence and improve mortality. Objective This study aimed to assess prescribing of optimal medical therapy (OMT) as five-medication regimens for secondary prevention at discharge after ACS in Sudan. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed at a tertiary hospital located in Wad Medani, Sudan, in the period between January and December 2019. Data were collected from patients’ files. OMT was defined as a combination of five medications; aspirin and P2Y12 inhibitors, statins, beta-blockers (BBs), and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs)/angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) or if a valid contraindication was documented. Results Of the 619 patients throughout the study period, 591 were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. The median age of patients was 60 years, and 58.9% of patients were male. Diabetes (44.5%) and hypertension (42%) were the most common risk factors. Most patients (58.4%) were diagnosed with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. About 99.7% of patients were on aspirin, 99.5% on statins, 97% on clopidogrel, 96.8% on dual antiplatelet therapy, 70.4% on BBs, and 57.9% on ACEIs/ARBs. OMT for secondary prevention was prescribed to 267 (45.2%) patients with ACS at discharge. Conclusion Although prescriptions for all five guideline-recommended medications after ACS were suboptimal, the study showed a positive trend in prescribing most individual medications.

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