Establishment of a cancer surveillance programme: the South African experience

Abstract

Cancer is projected to become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in low-income and middle-income countries in the future. However, cancer incidence in South Africa is largely under-reported because of a lack of nationwide cancer surveillance networks. We describe present cancer surveillance activities in South Africa, and use the International Agency for Research on Cancer framework to propose the development of four population-based cancer registries in South Africa. These registries will represent the ethnic and geographical diversity of the country. We also provide an update on a cancer surveillance pilot programme in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan District, and the successes and challenges in the implementation of the IARC framework in a local context. We examine the development of a comprehensive cancer surveillance system in a middle-income country, which might serve to assist other countries in establishing population-based cancer registries in a resource-constrained environment.

Surgical oncology at a major referral center in Ghana: Burden, staging, and outcomes

“…In addition to quantifying the burden of surgical oncology, it is essential to monitor outcomes to identify deficits and develop benchmarks aimed at reducing the disease burden. The importance of databases in the progression of cancer care is now universally recognized, with over 25 developed registries in 20 SSA countries . In addition, the WHO has dedicated specific attention to estimating cancer incidence and mortality with GLOBOCAN, however little attention has been paid to cataloging outcomes specific to cancers amenable to surgery.…”

Primary cutaneous malignancies in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa: A retrospective histopathological review

“…[10,11] However, owing to limited private sector submissions to the National Cancer Registry (NCR) the last comprehensive data inclusive of all health sectors were published in 2004, making it difficult to establish whether skin cancer incidence in SA has followed the global trend. [12] In 2011, the SA National Department of Health passed a regulation [13] that made cancer a reportable disease, requiring that all histologically confirmed cases be reported to the NCR.…”

Primary cutaneous malignancies in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa: A retrospective histopathological review

“…[10,11] However, owing to limited private sector submissions to the National Cancer Registry (NCR) the last comprehensive data inclusive of all health sectors were published in 2004, making it difficult to establish whether skin cancer incidence in SA has followed the global trend. [12] In 2011, the SA National Department of Health passed a regulation [13] that made cancer a reportable disease, requiring that all histologically confirmed cases be reported to the NCR. [14] Concerns have been raised that if the incidence of skin cancer continues to rise unchecked, it may become a major health problem and place a large financial burden on private and public health services.…”