Breast cancer is the leading cancer diagnosis and second most common cause of cancer deaths in sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). Yet, there are few population‐level survival data from Africa and none on the survival differences by stage at diagnosis. Here, we estimate breast cancer survival within SSA by area, stage and country‐level human development index (HDI). We obtained data on a random sample of 2,588 breast cancer incident cases, diagnosed in 2008–2015 from 14 population‐based cancer registries in 12 countries (Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe) through the African Cancer Registry Network. Of these, 2,311 were included for survival analyses. The 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year observed and relative survival (RS) were estimated by registry, stage and country‐level HDI. We equally estimated the excess hazards adjusting for potential confounders. Among patients with known stage, 64.9% were diagnosed in late stages, with 18.4% being metastatic at diagnosis. The RS varied by registry, ranging from 21.6%(8.2–39.8) at Year 3 in Bulawayo to 84.5% (70.6–93.5) in Namibia. Patients diagnosed at early stages had a 3‐year RS of 78% (71.6–83.3) in contrast to 40.3% (34.9–45.7) at advanced stages (III and IV). The overall RS at Year 1 was 86.1% (84.4–87.6), 65.8% (63.5–68.1) at Year 3 and 59.0% (56.3–61.6) at Year 5. Age at diagnosis was not independently associated with increased mortality risk after adjusting for the effect of stage and country‐level HDI. In conclusion, downstaging breast cancer at diagnosis and improving access to quality care could be pivotal in improving breast cancer survival outcomes in Africa.

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in African women. We sought to estimate population-based survival and evaluate excess hazards for mortality in African women with cervical cancer, examining the effects of country-level Human

Background: Prostate cancer is the leading cancer in men in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regarding incidence and mortality. Published data from a few registries in SSA suggest that the rates are still rising, but there is little comprehensive information on the time trends of prostate cancer incidence. Methods: We analyzed registry data on 13,170 incident prostate cancer cases in men aged 40 years or above, from 12 population-based cancer registries in 11 SSA countries, with at least a 10-year time span of comparable data. Results: We observed an increase in cumulative risks (CR) and age-standardized incidence rates (ASR) over time in all registries (statistically significant in all but one). The highest values of CR were found in Seychelles and Harare (Zimbabwe). The highest annual increase in the ASRs was seen in Seychelles and Eastern Cape (South Africa), whereas the lowest was seen in Mauritius. We mainly found a steady increase in incidence with age and during successive periods. Conclusions: This analysis reveals that prostate cancer incidence rates are rising in many populations in SSA—often very rapidly—which is in contrast to recent observations worldwide. We acknowledge that the reasons are multifactorial and largely remain unclear, but believe that they are primarily associated with improvements in health care systems, for example, a broader use of prostate-specific antigen testing. Impact: This study is the first to compare population-level data on time trends of prostate cancer incidence between multiple countries of SSA, presenting the different rates of increase in 11 of them.

HighlightsWe conducted a review and meta-analysis of esophageal cancer sex ratios in mainland Africa using data from 197 populations in 36 countries.We observed a consistent male excess in incidence rates overall and in the high-risk Eastern and Southern African regions.A male excess was evident in 30–39 year olds in high-risk Eastern and Southern African regions.Our findings suggest that a substantial fraction of the African EC burden could be avoided by targeting gender-specific exposures.

There are limited population‐based survival data for colorectal cancer (CRC) in sub‐Saharan Africa. Here, 1707 persons diagnosed with CRC from 2005 to 2015 were randomly selected from 13 population‐based cancer registries operating in 11 countries in sub‐Saharan Africa. Vital status was ascertained from medical charts or through next of kin. 1‐, 3‐ and 5‐year overall and relative survival rates for all registries and for each registry were calculated using the Kaplan‐Meier estimator. Multivariable analysis was used to examine the associations of 5‐year relative survival with age at diagnosis, stage and country‐level Human Development Index (HDI). Observed survival for 1448 patients with CRC across all registries combined was 72.0% (95% CI 69.5‐74.4%) at 1 year, 50.4% (95% CI 47.6‐53.2%) at 3 years and 43.5% (95% CI 40.6‐46.3%) at 5 years. We estimate that relative survival at 5 years in these registry populations is 48.2%. Factors associated with poorer survival included living in a country with lower HDI, late stage at diagnosis and younger or older age at diagnosis (<50 or ≥70 years). For example, the risk of death was 1.6 (95% CI 1.2‐2.1) times higher for patients residing in medium‐HDI and 2.7 (95% CI 2.2‐3.4) times higher for patients residing in low‐HDI compared to those residing in high‐HDI countries. Survival for CRC remains low in sub‐Saharan African countries, though estimates vary considerably by HDI. Strengthening health systems to ensure access to prevention, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment is critical in improving outcomes of CRC in the region.