Survival Times of Lung, Breast, Cervical, and Prostate Cancer Patients in Africa

Abstract

Cancer is a leading cause of death and disability in Africa, and addressing this disease remains a significant challenge for many African countries. This paper examines the survival times of cancer in Africa through a critical review of 38 publications that comprise 27,795 samples with lung, breast, cervical, and prostate cancer. The overall survival time at one year was 77.4%, and the loco-regional rate of survival at three years was 71.8%. For cervical, breast, lung, and prostate cancer, the five-month survival time was 73.1-79.9%. The mean survival times for lung cancer patients at one year was 78.2%, and the mean annual survival times at three years was 52.8%. The mean age at the time of the study was 57.6 years. Total estimated pooled survival times for cancer patients in Africa was 60.66% (95% CI: 56.27, 65.06). And, the survival times of cancer patients in Southern Africa is 14.30%, 26.21% in Eastern Africa, 24.51% in Western Africa, and 41.06% in Central Africa. To improve survival times of lung, breast, cervical, and prostate cancer patients in Africa, it is important to increase awareness about cancer and its risk factors. And consortia should be promoted, whereby regions in Africa that have better resources can serve as mentors.