Did you know? High Impact or Priority Cancers in Zimbabwe

Health DeskTo improve Cancer Prevention and control in the country there is need to focus on certain cancers. These include childhood, cervical, prostate, colorectal, lung and breast cancer.Prioritisation of these cancers is based on prevalence and high impact of cancer prevention and control measures and availability of global funding for programming.However, highly preventable cancers such as lung and liver cancers also require special and urgent consideration due to availability of funding.Cervical Cancer Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer among women worldwide and according to GLOBOCAN 2020 the incidence was about 600 000 with an estimated mortality of 340 000. Cervical cancer is the most frequent malignancy in Zimbabwean women with an estimated burden of 19 percent.It is estimated that 2270 women develop cervical cancer in Zimbabwe annually and a mortality rate of 64 percent has been recorded.

The burden and mortality of cervical cancer is most likely higher than those recorded in the National Cancer Registry.Prostate Cancer According to the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry 2018 Annual report (ZNCR, 2022), is the most diagnosed malignancy and the leading cause of cancer-related mortality among Zimbabwean men. About 20 percent of men diagnosed with prostate cancer die from the disease while the other 80 percent die with the disease rather than from it.Unfortunately, in Zimbabwe most patients with prostate cancer present at an advanced stage leading to poor treatment outcomes.Breast Cancer Breast cancer is the commonest cancer in women worldwide and leading cause of new cancer cases (2.26 million). However, in Zimbabwe, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women after cervical cancer.

Data from the cancer registry report also shows a consistent increase in the number of cases diagnosed.Peak incidence was noted between the ages of30 and 60 years when most are in their prime. Colorectal Cancer-GLOBOCAN estimates Colorectal cancer is the 3rd most common cancer globally, and the 6th most common cancer in Africa.In Zimbabwe colorectal cancer accounts for three percent of all cancers and five percent of all cancer deaths. Over the past three decades, Zimbabwe has witnessed a gradual increase in the incidence of colorectal cancer.

This can be attributed to changes in diet, lifestyle and to improvements in diagnostic capabilities.Childhood Cancers Globally about 400,000 new cases of childhood cancers are reported annually and 85 percent of these children live in LMIC. The survival of children with cancer in high income countries has increased to over 80 percent in the last decades, whereas estimated survival in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa is below 20 percent.In Zimbabwe, 293 childhood cancers (among children less than 15 years) recorded in 2018, 176 were in boys (60.0 percent) and 117 were in girls (40.0 percent). Childhood cancers accounted for 3.7 percent of the cancers registered in 2018.

The most frequently occurring cancers in boys were leukaemia (18.9 percent), lymphoma (18,4 percent) retinoblastoma (16 percent), Wilms Tumour (16 percent) and Brain Nervous System (9,2 percent). In girls, the most common cancers were Wilms tumour (20,9 percent), retinoblastoma (18,3 percent), leukaemia (15, 5 percent), Brain, nervous system (9,4 percent) and bone (7,8 percent).

Originally published on Zimbabwe Herald

Source: Zimbabwe Herald