Epidemiology of Cancers in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The greatest burden of disease in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is from infectious diseases. The incidence of all cancers is however rising. A complex web of poverty, ignorance, inadequate diagnostic and treatment facilities has made cancer outcomes worse in SSA in comparison with other world regions. This chapter provides an overview of cancer burden in SSA using data from cancer epidemiology databases and peer-reviewed publications. Age-standardized Cancer Incidences in SSA were obtained from the International Agency for Research in Cancer (IARC) publication – ‘Cancer incidences in five continents’. Recent cancer estimates were from GLOBOCAN 2008 (Ferlay et al. 2010) and GLOBOCAN 2012 (Ferlay et al. 2013). Cancer mortality was from WHO Mortality Database. The five commonest cancers in males in SSA in (Ferlay et al. 2013) (age-standardised incidence rate per 100,000 population) were: prostate cancer (27.9), liver cancer (10.2), Kaposi sarcoma (7.2), oesophageal cancer (6.8) and colorectal cancer (6.4). In females, ASIR per 100,000 for the commonest cancers were: cervix uteri cancer (34.8), breast cancer (33.8), liver cancer (5.4), colorectal cancer (5.4), ovarian (4.6). There were regional variations observed in cancer incidence in SSA. Tragically, survival from cancer in SSA was significantly worse than the rest of the world regions. Sub-Saharan Africa had disproportionately higher mortality rates from cancers compared to other world regions. The changes in population dynamics, lifestyles and diet across Africa, and the increasing role of viruses have coincided with the increasing cancer incidence. There is an urgent need for investment in cancer diagnosis and treatment to stem the current tide.