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Abstract
There is a significant dearth of contextually relevant information related to the management of head and neck cancer (HNC) in Africa. The aim of this letter was to put forward the findings from our larger systematic review to describe the current management of HNC patients in Africa and to identify gaps and present potential solutions. Sixty-six articles were included and analysed with descriptive statistics, a narrative synthesis, and thematic analysis. Surgical resection remains the primary medical intervention in Africa, whilst chemotherapy and radiation services remain limited. There was no mention of multidisciplinary team input in the management of these patients, including no description of any rehabilitative treatments. There are significant resource shortages ranging from access to medical equipment to both skilled medical and rehabilitative staff. The findings from this study imply that the management of HNC in Africa requires a possible transdisciplinary approach to improve access to services. Health professionals also need to explore a community-based level approach to care to improve access. There needs to be more context-specific research to improve contextually relevant teaching and practice in HNC.
Highlights
The majority of the data around head and neck cancer (HNC) stems from economically developed countries, which present with significantly different patient demographics and resource availability, which has implications for the medical, surgical and rehabilitative treatment of HNC in the African context
The review included articles relating to HNC and analysed the results according to the sub-categories such as oral cancer, oropharyngeal cancer and nasopharyngeal caner
None of the articles identified multidisciplinary team management (MDT) members involved in HNC treatment in Africa
Summary
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally[1] with low to middle income countries (LMICs) accounting for 70% of those deaths.[2]. The majority of the data around HNC stems from economically developed countries, which present with significantly different patient demographics and resource availability, which has implications for the medical, surgical and rehabilitative treatment of HNC in the African context. Surgery was mentioned as the primary means for oropharyngeal cancer and continues to remain the primary treatment for HNC in Africa with 44% of the patients in the review articles undergoing surgery.
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