Why women are 66pc less likely to die from breast cancer

There is hope for women diagnosed with early breast cancer. They can live longer.

According to findings recently published in BMJ, a peer-reviewed medical journal, women diagnosed with early breast cancer are 66 per cent less likely to die from the disease than they were 20 years ago.

Researchers from University of Oxford found prognosis for women with early invasive breast cancer has improved substantially since the 1990s. And most women can expect to become long-term cancer survivors.

They found the risk of death within five years of diagnosis for women diagnosed between 1993 and 1999 was 14.4 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent for those diagnosed between 2010 and 2015.

The researchers attribute the decline in mortality rates to new treatments, improved radiotherapy, better detection and breast screening and studies which have uncovered varying characteristics of breast cancer.

Magseed technology

In the past decade, there have been breakthroughs globally, regionally and locally in breast cancer screening and treatment.

Last September, Bradford Teaching Hospitals under National Health Service Foundation Trust in England adopted Magseed technology, a painless innovation for removing cancerous tumours.

With Magseed described as a magnetic, unbreakable seed smaller than a single grain of rice, surgeons can locate the exact location of the cancer inside the lump.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers have also designed a wearable ultrasound device that could allow people to detect tumours in early stages.

Read also: New promising breast cancer drug on the way

In South Africa, there are mobile mammography units, making screening accessible to women in rural and urban areas.

In Uganda, two information technology experts have developed a glove that produces ultrasound images of a screened breast and transmits them via phone for analysis.

Sentimag technology

Kenya has also made progress. For instance, in 2021, MP Shah Hospital introduced a new surgical option, Sentimag technology which enables surgeons to detect tiny tumours.

“As breast cancer screening programs have advanced, tumours are now detected much earlier, so they are smaller, less defined and harder to feel. In fact, 50 per cent of all breast tumours cannot be felt at diagnosis,” Dr Marek Ostwowski, oncoplastic breast surgeon at the hospital is quoted in an article announcing introduction of the new technology in the facility’s website.

“This technology is designed to guide surgeons using Sentimag to locate impalpable tumours for biopsy and has many advantages over wire and radioactive seed localisation,” he added.

World Health Organisation estimates that globally more than 2.3 million cases of breast cancer occur each year. And men account for less than one per cent of all breast cancer cases.

Young population

In sub-Saharan Africa, annual breast cancer incidence stands at 33.8 per 100,000 women, as indicated in a 2018 study published in World Journal of Surgical Oncology.

In the Breast Cancer Screening and Early Diagnosis Action Plan (2021-2025), published in October, 2021, acting Director-General for Health Dr Patrick Amoth, identified breast cancer as the leading type of cancer in Kenya accounting for 16.1 per cent of all cancers.

The Health ministry further highlights the worrying occurrence of the disease among the young population of 35-50 years unlike in Western countries where the concentration is within the 50-55 age bracket.

The document highlights a concern over late detection of breast cancer. It refers to data from the Kenya National Cancer Registry 2014-2019 which showed that seven out of 10 cancers are diagnosed at advanced stages (stage III and stage IV).

“Breast cancer is curable if detected early,” the Health ministry advised Kenyans in its X post on October 4, 2023, aimed at encouraging early breast cancer screening.

Various factors put one at risk of developing breast cancer, among them, obesity, harmful use of alcohol and physical inactivity, use of hormone therapy replacement, heredity, genetic mutations and history of chest wall radiation before age 30.

The risks can be avoided by modifying the diet, engaging in physical activity, avoiding alcohol and tobacco as well as oestrogens and progestins, among others.

The Health ministry’ guideline on screening recommends starting the examination at the age of 25, which can be done at the level of health centres, sub-county, county and national referral hospitals.

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