Breast Cancer Treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Population-Based Registry Study

PurposeStage at diagnosis and receipt of therapy are the most important determinants of breast cancer (BC) survival in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Recently, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network therapy guidelines for SSA were published. Our study aimed to describe the cancer-directed therapy (CDT) received by patients with BC at the population level in SSA.MethodsRandom samples of patients with BC (≥ 40 cases per registry) who were diagnosed from 2009 to 2015 were drawn from 11 population-based cancer registries—Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Bamako, Brazzaville, Bulawayo, Cotonou, Eldoret, Kampala, Maputo, Namibia and Nairobi—which represented 10 countries in SSA. Active methods were used to update therapy and outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed invasive BC.ResultsA total of 834 patients were included, with median age at diagnosis of 48 years (range, 20 to 92 years; 16% diagnosed younger than age 35 years). Among patients with known stage (n = 434), 66% were diagnosed at stage III and IV. Eighty-one perc...