Underfunded cancer registries across Africa that struggle to accurately capture cancer data due to skills and resource shortages are being strengthened to improve detection of the disease on the continent.
The SA National Cancer Registry has become one of three centres of excellence in the region in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) cancer surveillance controlling body, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development and partners.
IARC sets the rules and guidelines for cancer registries. Each registry’s cancer data quality is measured against these rules, and its value hinges on the quality of data generated.
The other centres on the continent are in Kenya and Ivory Coast.
The latest centre, launched in December, is housed at the Abidjan Cancer Registry within the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Treichville in Ivory Coast.
The centres will provide technical assistance to strengthen skills in cancer registry data collection methods, analysis, interpretation and data use, which are regarded as challenges among African registries.
International experts will impart technical assistance and training that staff might not be familiar with in SA.
According to the Cancer Association of SA (Cansa), there are between 800 and 1,000 children diagnosed with cancer annually in the country. But it is estimated that half of the children with cancer in SA are never diagnosed.
While SA has an established oncology healthcare service, the infrastructure is overburdened, cancer awareness in the primary healthcare service is poor and there are widespread service delivery challenges.
An estimated 10-million deaths were caused by cancer globally in 2020, of which more than 700,000 occurred in Africa.
SA is one of the countries affected by a growing burden of cancer. A new modelling study presented at the World Cancer Congress in Geneva in October predicted that this burden will almost double by 2030 if left unchecked.
Produced by actuarial consultancy firm Percept and the University of Cape Town (UCT), the study shows common cancers such as breast, cervical, prostate, lung, blood and paediatric are “increasing over time for all ages”, from about 62,000 cases in 2019 to a projected 121,000 in 2030.
Dr Mazvita Muchengeti, senior epidemiologist at the National Cancer Registry, said for Africa to be able to make relevant policies the continent needs to “understand what the causes of cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa are so we can control it”.
“Accurate and timely cancer data is essential for countries to better understand and respond effectively to the needs of their populations.
The cancer burden is rapidly increasing, and the need for better data for cancer control on the African continent has never been more urgent
— Dr Freddie Bray
“I am excited to be part of the team that is going to change that and provide accurate data and explore risk factors for cancers in Africa, so that our policies are relevant and they achieve what we want them to achieve.”
She said the development of collaborating centres was the result of efforts to provide the benefit of cancer control by and for African countries through an exchange of strategies, experiences and best practices, to strengthen planning and cancer surveillance in the region.
Funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and others, the collaboration includes the African Cancer Registry Network (AFCRN) and Vital Strategies, which provides financial and programmatic support.
Dr Freddie Bray, head of the cancer surveillance branch at IARC, said the centres originated due to the recognition of local expertise in cancer registration in the three countries, “from which capacity in cancer registration across the region can be built”.
“The cancer burden is rapidly increasing, and the need for better data for cancer control on the African continent has never been more urgent,” said Bray.
Dr Magdalena Paczkowski, director of the cancer registries programme at Vital Strategies, said the centres would “mainly play a technical assistance role, though there is funding set aside for on-site training and mentorship”.
“The centres are focused on strengthening cancer surveillance so that these data can be used to inform cancer control strategies like screening and the role of vaccination against cervical cancer. Because cancer surveillance data is used to support cancer control planning, any investment in strengthening these data will provide a stronger foundation for that planning.”
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