Malignant tumours in urban Ghana: evidence from the city of Kumasi

Abstract

BackgroundData from population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) are a useful resource for estimating the incidence of cancers. PBCR data is useful in the planning and implementation of cancer prevention and control strategies. Ghana’s plan for control of non-communicable diseases recognises the need for good quality data to facilitate the attainment of set goals.MethodsWe reviewed data from the Kumasi Cancer Registry for the year 2015. Data collected included clinical and demographic information, laboratory reports and source of case information. Data was entered into the Canreg-5 software. Data was initially analysed using Canreg-5 to estimate the incidence and age standardised rates (ASR) for various tumours. Data was also exported to Microsoft Excel for further analysis using Epi Info version 7.1.4. Microsoft Excel was used to generate charts and graphs. Aggregated data for the years 2013 and 2014 were also analysed for trends in cancer incidence and ASR.ResultsA total of 736 cancer cases were recorded among the residents of Kumasi for the year 2015. Females accounted for 62.4% of all cases. The overall incidence of cancer in Kumasi for 2015 was 46.1 per 100,000. The mean age of all cases was 51.3 years (with a range of 1 to 99 years). The incidence among female residents was estimated at 54.1 per 100,000 compared with 37.1 per 100,000 in males. Among females, breast and cervical cancers recorded the highest incidences of 16.1 per 100,000 and 13.7 per 100,000 respectively. Among males, prostate cancer had the highest incidence of 10.5 per 100,000. Breast, cervical and liver cancers were the commonest in both sexes accounting for 19.7, 14.7 and 11.4% of cases respectively.ConclusionThere has been significant improvement in data quality and coverage since the inception of our PBCR in 2012. PBCRs are feasible; therefore there is the need for more such registries to improve data on cancers in Ghana. Consistent with other evidence, we found breast cancer as the commonest female cancer in Ghana.

Breast cancer awareness, risk factors and screening practices among future health professionals in Ghana: A cross-sectional study

“…In Ghana, breast cancer is becoming a great public health challenge among women. With about 2,900 incident cases occurring annually, and one-eighth of them dying from it, the disease has become the most common cancer-related death among Ghanaian women [ 5 , 6 ]. Previous studies have revealed an increased breast cancer burden in Ghana over the past decade.…”

Prevalence of vaccine and non-vaccine human papillomavirus types among women in Accra and Kumasi, Ghana: a cross-sectional study

“…In Ghana, cervical cancer is ranked as the second most common cancer with an estimated incidence of 27.4 per 100,000 women [7,8]. Around 2797 women are diagnosed yearly and approximately 1699 deaths occur from cervical cancer [7,8].…”

“…In Ghana, cervical cancer is ranked as the second most common cancer with an estimated incidence of 27.4 per 100,000 women [7,8]. Around 2797 women are diagnosed yearly and approximately 1699 deaths occur from cervical cancer [7,8]. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that there will be 5000 new cases of cervical cancer and 3361 cervical cancer deaths will occur annually in Ghana by 2025 [9].…”

Breast lesions and cancer: histopathology and molecular classification in a referral hospital in Ghana

“…An analysis of data from the WHO-Study on global AGEing and adult health (WHO-SAGE) waves 1 and 2, along with numerous other studies on different population groups, also revealed a rapid increase in the prevalence of overweightness and obesity among the Ghanaian adult population [46,47]. Similarly, the Performance and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020) surveys indicate that Ghana has one of the highest annual rates of modern contraceptive uptake in Africa [48].…”