Breast cancer burden in central Sudan

Abstract

Breast cancer is a worldwide disease resulting in many deaths. Although breast cancer incidence is lower in Sub-Saharan African countries than in developed countries, African women are more likely than women in the developed world to be diagnosed at later stages of the disease and, thus, are more likely to die from it. This is due to the lack of awareness by women, accessibility to screening methods, and availability of African-based research findings that would influence decision making at the governmental level. This descriptive study was undertaken to shed light on the type, stage and age distribution of breast cancer at diagnosis in women living in central Sudan encompassing al-Gezira, Blue Nile, White Nile, and Sennar States. Cases comprised 1255 women from central Sudan diagnosed with breast cancer and referred to and treated at Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology, and Oncology, from January 1999 to December 2006. Data revealed that 74% of the women were 50 years old or premenopausal. Invasive ductal carcinoma was the most common pathology (82%) and women presenting with stage III or higher tumors that had already metastasized, while ductal carcinoma in situ was the least prevalent (0.5%) finding. Estrogen and progesterone receptors expression were performed on a limited number of samples and the overwhelming majority of cases were observed to be negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors expression.

Factors associated with advanced stage diagnosis of breast cancer in North West Ethiopia. a cross-sectional study

“…This study revealed that patients from rural areas were 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed at late stage than those from an urban area. This finding is consistent with a study conducted in north Pakistan [ 27 ] and Sudan [ 42 ]. Travel distance to the nearby healthcare facility ≥5 km was also associated with advanced-stage diagnosis of patients with breast cancer.…”

“…Distance to the nearby healthcare facility ≥5 km was also associated with late presentation of patients with breast cancer. Women living in the rural areas presented with advanced metastatic disease than women living in urban areas in Sudan and sub-Saharan Africa [ 42 , 43 ]. This might be due to the long distance travelling to cancer diagnostic centres as well as the difficulty of getting information access about breast cancer to understand the early symptoms of the disease.…”

Unplanned attendances of cancer patients to an outpatient unit in a low-income country: A prospective study from Sudan

“…Sudanese women with breast cancer are on average younger compared with their counterparts from high-income countries. 9,18 More than two-thirds (73.5%) of our study population were from remote rural places and most of them were unemployed. Therefore, for them the financial implications of travelling to access healthcare at the NCI could be a huge burden.…”

Pioneering BRCA1/2 Point-Of-Care Testing for Integration of Germline and Tumor Genetics in Breast Cancer Risk Management: A Vision for the Future of Translational Pharmacogenomics

“…These are generally ascribed to late-stage presentation and a delay in diagnosis, partly due to sub-optimal healthcare systems (1)(2)(3). From studies conducted in Sub-Saharan Africa, more advanced breast disease is seen in patients living in rural areas than those in urban centers (2,4). This is also the case for South Africa (SA), where the stage of cancer and age at diagnosis differs according to geographic location as well as psychosocial and personal financial status (5,6).…”