Treatment of cancer in sub-Saharan Africa

Summary Cancer is rapidly becoming a public health crisis in low-income and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients often present with advanced disease. Little health-care infrastructure exists, and few personnel are available for the care of patients. Surgeons are often central to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe lancet oncology Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. e158 - e167
Main Authors Kingham, T Peter, Dr, Alatise, Olusegun I, MD, Vanderpuye, Verna, MD, Casper, Corey, MD, Abantanga, Francis A, Prof, Kamara, Thaim B, MD, Olopade, Olufunmilayo I, Prof, Habeebu, Muhammad, MBBS, Abdulkareem, Fatimah B, Prof, Denny, Lynette, Prof
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England Elsevier Ltd 01.04.2013
Elsevier Limited
Subjects
Abdomen
Africa South of the Sahara - epidemiology
Breast cancer
Cancer therapies
Disease
Health Personnel
Health Services Needs and Demand
Hematology, Oncology and Palliative Medicine
High income
Humans
Industrialized nations
Lymphoma
Metastasis
Mortality
Neoplasms - epidemiology
Neoplasms - pathology
Neoplasms - surgery
Oncology
Palliative Care
Pathology
Poverty
Prostate cancer
Public Health
Surgery
Tuberculosis
Tumors
Ultrasonic imaging
Waivers
Africa South of the Sahara
Nigeria
Africa
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Summary:Summary Cancer is rapidly becoming a public health crisis in low-income and middle-income countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, patients often present with advanced disease. Little health-care infrastructure exists, and few personnel are available for the care of patients. Surgeons are often central to cancer care in the region, since they can be the only physician a patient sees for diagnosis, treatment (including chemotherapy), and palliative care. Poor access to surgical care is a major impediment to cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa. Additional obstacles include the cost of oncological care, poor infrastructure, and the scarcity of medical oncologists, pathologists, radiation oncologists, and other health-care workers who are needed for cancer care. We describe treatment options for patients with cancer in sub-Saharan Africa, with a focus on the role of surgery in relation to medical and radiation oncology, and argue that surgery must be included in public health efforts to improve cancer care in the region.
Bibliography:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
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ISSN:1470-2045
1474-5488
DOI:10.1016/S1470-2045(12)70472-2