ecancermedicalscience

Research

Prevalence and clinicopathological characteristics of de novo metastatic cancer at a major radiotherapy centre in West Africa: a cross-sectional study

29 Nov 2024
Joseph Daniels, Onesmus Iinekela Amunyela, Andrew Yaw Nyantakyi, Edwina Ayaaba Ayabilah, Judith Naa Odey Tackie, Kofi Adesi Kyei

Background: Cancer is a major public health challenge in West Africa, with a significant proportion of cancer-related deaths attributed to distant metastasis. De novo metastatic cancer (DnMC), where metastasis is detected at diagnosis, presents considerable therapeutic challenges, particularly in limited-resource settings where novel treatments are often unavailable and/or unaffordable.

Aim: To determine the prevalence, incidence and clinicopathological characteristics of patients diagnosed with DnMC at a major radiotherapy center in West Africa.

Methods: This was a single-institution-based quantitative cross-sectional study. Data on the prevalence and incidence of DnMC were retrieved from a hospital-based cancer registry whereas patients’ demographic and clinicopathologic data were extracted from patients’ medical records and analysed with STATA software (version 16). Descriptive statistics were used to summarise patient- and tumour-related characteristics.

Results: The prevalence and incidence of DnMC were 15.2% and 5.3%, respectively, with a 36% overall incidence rate of metastatic cancer. The mean age was 50.9 years (SD 15.2), ranging from 15 to 90 years, with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1.6. Also, 28.8% had a history of alcohol intake whereas 13.7% were (tobacco) smokers. Additionally, 10.3% of the patients had a positive family history of cancer. Pain (28.2%) was the most common presenting symptom, followed by bleeding (16.5%). In all, 34.9% had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of 0 whereas 33.3% were ECOG 1. The gastrointestinal tract (25.8%) and breasts (17.6%) were the most frequent primary cancer sites, whereas 4.4% had metastatic cancers of unknown primary origin. The most frequent sites of distant metastasis were the lungs (34.6%), liver (28.9%) and bone (13.8%). Adenocarcinoma was the most prevalent histological type (35.2%).

Conclusion: There was a relatively high rate of DnMC compared with high-income countries, emphasising the need for early detection and expanded access to comprehensive cancer care in limited-resource settings.

Related Articles

Jessica O Esangbedo, Rachael O Oduyemi, Damilare Aduroja, Yetunde O Tola, Olajumoke Dele-Alonge, Emmanuel O Adesuyi, Michael O Ajiboye, Oluwadamilare Akingbade
Sushmita Rath, Mehak Trikha, Laboni Sarkar, Kunal Jobanputra, Akash Pawar, Revathy Krishnamurthy, Ayushi Sahay, Palak, Purvi Thakkar, Sneha Shah, Venkatesh Kapu, Anbarasan Sekar, Prabhat Bhargava, Seema Gulia, Rima Pathak, Tabassum Wadasadawala, Rajiv Sarin, Rajendra Badwe, Sudeep Gupta, Jyoti Bajpai
Olatunde Olaniyi Abiodun Oluwafemi, Eberechukwu Uchime Kasiemobi, Mustapha Babatunde, Bankole Kofi Adedeji, Oyelayo Oluwaseun Olaoluwa, Ismaheel Aderogba Azeez, Ezekpo Okechukwu Obumneme
Chase Peng Yun Ng, Moira Hegyi, Grant Lewison, Tania Pastrana, Eve Namisango, James Cleary, Barbara Hasties, Eric Kabisa, Helena Musau, Kathryn Spangenberg, Paola Ruiz, Zipporah Ali, Mertixell Mallafre-Larrosa, Alfredo Polo, Julie Torode, Ajay Aggarwal, Richard Sullivan, Mevhibe Hocaoglu