Cancer In Sub Saharan Africa

The Cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa volume brings together population-based cancer incidence data from 25 cancer registries in 20 sub-Saharan African countries that are part of the African Cancer Registry Network. The compiled data in this volume, presented and commented upon by covered population and by anatomical site, are of tremendous value to the assessment of the pattern and evolution of cancer in Africa, as a means of elucidating, confirming, and evaluating causes of the disease.

This book discusses the current state of cancer pathway as it is relevant to sub-Saharan Africa and highlights differences in epidemiology and the underlying problems with management. It outlines the current practice and opinions in all forms of cancer, also highlighting future prospects. Starting by providing background information on the epidemiology and genomic variations, the book then goes on to look at Infection-related cancers and continues to prostate GI, breast cancer and ovarian and cervical cancer. The last part of the book focuses on delivery of affordable and accessible care. Palliative services and primary and transnational research, as well as clinical trials are also discussed. Written by a team of authors based in the UK, Nigeria, South Africa and the US. this book offers an overview of the current state and challenges of cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa, and it would be valuable to policy makers, researchers, funding organisations, and can be an adjunct to standard text books for students, residents and established doctors.

This atlas illustrates the latest available data on the cancer epidemic, showing causes, stages of development, and prevalence rates of different types of cancers by gender, income group, and region. It also examines the cost of the disease, both in terms of health care and commercial interests, and the steps being taken to curb the epidemic, from research and screening to cancer management programs and health education.

Cervical Cancer is one of the leading cancers among women, especially in developing countries. Prevention and control are the most important public health strategies. Empowerment of women, education, "earlier" screening by affordable technologies like visual inspection, and treatment of precancers by cryotherapy/ LEEP are the most promising interventions to reduce the burden of cervical cancer.Dr Rajamanickam Rajkumar had the privilege of establishing a rural population based cancer registry in South India in 1996, as well as planning and implementing a large scale screening program for cervical cancer in 2000. The program was able to show a reduction in the incidence rate of cervical cancer by 25%, and reduction in mortality rate by 35%. This was the greatest inspiration for him to work on cerrvical cancer prevention, and he edited this book to inspire others to initiate such programs in developing countries. InTech - Open Access Publisher plays a major role in this crusade against cancer, and the authors have contributed to it very well.

Digestive Diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa: Changes and Challenges provides an in-depth examination into the rise of western digestive diseases in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). For those interested in the causes of the major diseases of the ‘West’, the patterns in Africa have always reflected on the emergence of western diseases and elucidated the pattern of these conditions and their clinical course. Coverage includes the present epidemiology of GI diseases in SSA, the trends that are occurring, and the context of other emerging diseases. Appropriate for researchers, gastroenterologists and internists, this book brings together the latest research in a single, complete volume. Provides evidence of the changes occurring in digestive disease in Sub-Saharan Africa due to Westernization Covers urbanization, upward mobility, demographics, environmental changes, and the availability of natural resources that have a decisive influence on digestive diseases Offers models for the amelioration of digestive diseases due to Westernization

Among the poorest and least developed regions in the world, sub-Saharan Africa has long faced a heavy burden of disease, with malaria, tuberculosis, and, more recently, HIV being among the most prominent contributors to that burden. Yet in most parts of Africa-and especially in those areas with the greatest health care needs-the data available to health planners to better understand and address these problems are extremely limited. The vast majority of Africans are born and will die without being recorded in any document or spearing in official statistics. With few exceptions, African countries have no civil registration systems in place and hence are unable to continuously generate vital statistics or to provide systematic information on patterns of cause of death, relying instead on periodic household-level surveys or intense and continuous monitoring of small demographic surveillance sites to provide a partial epidemiological and demographic profile of the population. In 1991 the Committee on Population of the National Academy of Sciences organized a workshop on the epidemiological transition in developing countries. The workshop brought together medical experts, epidemiologists, demographers, and other social scientists involved in research on the epidemiological transition in developing countries to discuss the nature of the ongoing transition, identify the most important contributors to the overall burden of disease, and discuss how such information could be used to assist policy makers in those countries to establish priorities with respect to the prevention and management of the main causes of ill health. This report summarizes the presentations and discussions from a workshop convened in October 2011 that featured invited speakers on the topic of epidemiological transition in sub-Saharan Africa. The workshop was organized by a National Research Council panel of experts in various aspects of the study of epidemiological transition and of sub-Saharan data sources. The Continuing Epidemiological Transition in Sub-Saharan Africa serves as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop in October 2011.

Current data and trends in morbidity and mortality for the sub-Saharan Region as presented in this new edition reflect the heavy toll that HIV/AIDS has had on health indicators, leading to either a stalling or reversal of the gains made, not just for communicable disorders, but for cancers, as well as mental and neurological disorders.

The book comprehensively covers all aspects of hepatocellular carcinoma (cancer) as it occurs in sub-Saharan black Africans and how the cancer differs from that in other parts of the world, in most of which it occurs infrequently. The first chapter is introduced with a discussion of the difficulty in recording all cases of this cancer in sub Saharan Africa and then covers its epidemiology, emphasising the very high incidence of liver cancer in sub Saharan black Africans. The relatively young age at which the tumor occurs in comparison with the older age of the patients in resource-rich regions is stressed. The sex distribution of the cancer is also discussed. The second chapter describes the ways in which hepatocellular cancer presents in black Africans, its symptoms and signs, and how its presentation differs from that in other parts of the world. The third chapter summarises the grave outlook for patients with the tumor, the very short survival times of the patients, and the reasons for their deaths. The fourth chapter discusses the diagnosis of the cancer and why this is far more difficult than it is in resource-rich countries. The fifth chapter deals with the pathology of the tumor-its similarities and differences from that in other parts of the world. The sixth chapter is the longest in the book, and it deals comprehensively with the causes of liver cancer in sub-Saharan Africa. The major cause is chronic infection with the hepatitis B virus, an infection acquired in early childhood, and the possible mechanisms by which this may cause the cancer. Other less common but still important causes in the subcontinent-such as exposure to the fungal carcinogen, aflatoxin, chronic hepatitis C virus infection, dietary iron overload among Africans, and membranous obstruction of the inferior vena cava-are also discussed. The seventh chapter discusses the difficulty in treating hepatocellular cancer and the poor results obtained in sub-Saharan Africa in comparison with the results of treatment in industrialized countries. The penultimate chapter presents possible ways to prevent the cancer or, at least, to detect it at a far earlier time than is currently the case and when it may be more amenable to treatment. The current status of vaccination in preventing hepatitis B virus infection, and hence liver cancer, is discussed in detail. The final chapter asks the question, "How can we improve the diagnosis and treatment of this dreadful malignant disease?"