In Uganda and generally in Sub-Saharan Africa, there is an
epidemiologic transition to noncommunicable diseases from infectious diseases.
Effective strategies to mitigate the cancer burden may be designed by
understanding the underlying factors responsible for this increase in
noncommunicable diseases. The cancer registration coverage is low and evenly
distributed in all regions of Uganda. This narrative review was conducted to
determine the cancer burden in Uganda in order to allow for a timely intervention
to mitigate cancer risk factors by Public Health authorities. The primary
purpose of the study is to explore the sub-regional cancer spectrum in Uganda
among both males and females. This review reveals the low levels of cancer
awareness, which contribute to poor cancer screening and therefore present a
barrier to cancer control and prevention in this population. In Uganda, there
had been a 16% increase in cancer deaths between 2012 and 2018. The most common
types of cancers are mainly due to infections, such as those caused by human
herpes virus 8, Epstein-Barr virus and human papilloma virus. The sub-regional
cancer spectrum in Uganda includes prostate, oesophageal, gastric, liver
cancers and Kaposi sarcoma in males. Whilst in females, the sub-regional spectrum
includes ovarian, breast, oesophageal and Kaposi sarcoma. Population-based
cancer registries in the Central and Northern regions have reported ovarian
cancer among the top five most common cancers. There is a significant variation
in cancer profile in some sub-regions of Uganda, where non-Hodgkin lymphoma was
replaced by gastric cancer in males. This finding reinforces the need to
support and establish more population-based cancer registries to encourage the
establishment of regional cancer centres, determine the cancer burden and guide
national control programmes in the country. Part of the national cancer control
programme should include cancer surveillance using population-based cancer
registries.
Author(s) Details
Richard Wismayer
Department of Surgery, Masaka Regional Referral Hospital, Masaka, Uganda,
Department of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences, Equator University of
Science and Technology, Masaka, Uganda and Department of Surgery, Faculty of
Health Sciences, Habib Medical School, IUIU University, Kampala, Uganda.
Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/aodhr/v5/6135
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