The epidemiology of cancer in Angola : results from the cancer registry of the national oncology centre of Luanda, Angola

Abstract

Knowledge of the epidemiological profile of cancer is a key step in planning national cancer policy. The main objective of this study was to characterize the epidemiological profile of cancer in Angola based on cases of cancer registered at the National Oncology Centre (NOC) of Luanda, the only Angolan hospital to specialize in cancer treatment and diagnosis. The study consisted of a cross-sectional historical review of cases treated at the NOC between 2007 and 2011. The following variables were analysed: tumour location, diagnostic basis, and source of referral, as well as patient age, sex, place of residence, and the stage of the disease. The NOC registered a total of 4,791 patients throughout the study period, at an annual average of 958 cases. The most commonly diagnosed cancers were breast (20.5%), cervical (16.5%), and head and neck cancer (10.6%), followed by lymphoma (7.2%), Kaposi sarcoma (6.1%), and prostate cancer (4%). A total of 76% of patients were under 60 years old, and 10% were less than 15 years old. Of the total number of patients with cancer treated at the NOC, 77.3% lived in the Luanda province. Staging data were only available for patients with breast or cervical cancer, and an analysis of this variable showed that most of these individuals were in advanced stages of the disease. In the absence of a population-based cancer registry, this study constitutes a reasonable assessment of the epidemiological profile of cancer in Angola.