A new report has found that a large majority of women with breast cancer in two countries in sub-Saharan Africa have the disease at an advanced stage.
Researchers from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the African Cancer Registry Network analyzed the size and stage of breast cancer at diagnosis in Cote d'Ivoire and the Republic of Congo. They found that while overall rates of cancer were lower in those countries, most tumors were advanced -- at rates far higher than in the U.S. The study was published online September 11 in Breast.
The team led by Dr. Farhad Islami, PhD, of ACS used data from a population-based cancer registry to analyze records from female breast cancer cases that occurred in 2008 and 2009 in both nations.
| Rates of advanced breast cancer by country | ||
| Country | Rate per 100,000 women | Stage III or IV at diagnosis |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 33.7 | 74% |
| Republic of Congo | 31.7 | 81% |
| U.S. | 122.8 | 24% for African-American women; 16% for non-Hispanic white women |
The group also found that in Cote d'Ivoire, 68% of tumors were 5 cm or larger in diameter, a number that stood at 63% in the Republic of Congo.
Islami noted that population-based mammography screening campaigns are not a viable option in sub-Saharan Africa due to limited resources. Instead, raising public awareness of breast cancer could be an important approach, and one that has worked in low- and middle-income countries, where early detection of breast cancer is a priority.
