Determinants of Uptake of Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening by Users in Lagos, Southwestern Nigeria

Background: Breast and cervical cancer are the two most common cancers in Nigerian women with a huge morbidity and mortality burden in those affected. Previous Nigerian studies indicate a wide variation in the knowledge and perceptions of women, which significantly impacts on their willingness and motivations to make use of available cancer screening services. The result of this is late presentations and poor treatment outcomes. This study assessed the factors affecting the uptake of breast and cervical cancer screening services in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among female users of a breast and cervical cancer screening service in Lagos, Nigeria. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire and analyzed with the level of significance set at < 0.05. Results: A total of 491 women were screened between October and December 2017 for breast and cervical cancer. The mean age was 38.3 ± 12.7 years, with majority married (60.3%), educated up to tertiary level (47.7%), and were professionals (30.8%). Majority knew about cervical cancer screening (61.3%) ( Table 1 ), with 23.6% having a previous cervical cancer screening and 9.8% had vaccination for cervical cancer. Older (42.3 ± 10.8 years), married professionals with tertiary education who have heard about cervical cancer were more likely to have had a previous cervical cancer screening ( P < 0.05) ( Fig. 1 ). About 65.9% of the total sample population knew about breast cancer screening ( Table 2 ) and 62.0% of these do periodic breast self-examination. However, many of the women sampled had never had a clinical breast examination (64.2%) nor a screening mammogram (74.3%) ( Fig. 2 ). Determinants of breast self-examination were tertiary education and those in professional occupations ( P < 0.05). Conclusion: In line with the goal of ensuring that every eligible woman is screened for breast and cervical cancer, there is an urgent need to improve knowledge and awareness of breast and cervical cancer, as well as the need for screening, among Nigerian women with little or no education, who are involved in unskilled or semiskilled occupations.[Figure: see text][Figure: see text][Table: see text][Table: see text]