Africa's cancer crisis has reached alarming levels, with the continent recording 1.54 million new cancer cases and 923,000 cancer deaths in 2023. According to researchers at the University of Pretoria, the continent cannot "treat" its way out of this crisis, and prevention and early detection must play a much greater role. A recent study published in The Lancet Oncology examined the cancer burden in all 54 African countries between 1990 and 2023.
The study found that cancer was responsible for approximately 33.9 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in Africa, with about 98% of these years lost due to premature deaths. Around 306,000 cancer deaths were attributed to 88 risk factors examined in the research. These findings suggest that the way Africa thinks about cancer needs to change, with a greater emphasis on prevention and early detection.
Breast and cervical cancer accounted for more than half of all new cancer cases among women in Africa in 2023. The situation is also concerning among young people, with an estimated 104,000 cancer cases and 54,700 cancer deaths among children in 2023. Young people between 15 and 39 years old were responsible for more than a quarter of the continent's total cancer DALYs.
Researchers Prof. Zodwa Dlamini and Dr. Thulo Molefi emphasize that a greater focus on prevention does not mean that treatment can be replaced. Many cancers that are potentially curable if detected early only reach oncology services when the disease is already advanced, making treatment more complicated and outcomes poorer.
Dlamini and Molefi stress that prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment must be part of the same strategy. This includes access to pathology and molecular diagnostics, surgery, systemic treatment, radiation, and supportive and palliative care. Africa must also invest more in areas such as vaccination, screening, genomics, and molecular epidemiology.
The researchers note that existing models for determining risk do not account for all possible cancer-causing exposures, and some cancer-causing infections that are particularly important in Africa are not fully considered. This means that the actual proportion of Africa's cancer burden that may be preventable could be greater than current estimates suggest.
The study's findings highlight the need for a comprehensive approach to addressing Africa's cancer crisis, taking into account factors such as age, sex, population circumstances, and different exposure patterns. The researchers believe that genomics and other advanced molecular research methods can help better understand the complex interactions between genetic susceptibility, environmental exposure, and other factors that contribute to cancer.
Key points
- A significant portion of Africa's cancer burden is linked to potentially modifiable risk factors.
