title: Cancer of the breast: 5-year survival in a tertiary hospital in Uganda.
abstract: The objective was to investigate survival of breast cancer patients at Mulago Hospital. A retrospective study of the medical records of 297 breast cancer patients referred to the combined breast clinic housed in the radiotherapy department between 1996 and 2000 was done. The female/male ratio was 24 : 1. The age range was 22-85 years, with a median of 45 years and peak age group of 30-39 years. Twenty-three percent had early disease (stages 0-IIb) and 26% had metastatic disease. Poorly differentiated was the most common pathological grade (58%) followed by moderately differentiated (33%) and well-differentiated (9%) tumours. The commonest pathological type encountered was 'not otherwise specified' (76%). Of all patients, 75% had surgery, 76% had radiotherapy, 60% had hormonotherapy and 29% had chemotherapy. Thirty-six (12%) patients received all the four treatment modalities. The 5-year survival probabilities (Kaplan-Meier) for early disease were 74 and 39% for advanced disease (P=0.001). The overall 5-year survival was 56%, which is lower than the rates in the South African blacks (64%) and North American whites (82-88%).
authors.affiliation: Surgery Department, Mulago Hospital, PO Box 7051, Kampala, Uganda.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gakwaya
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Kigula-Mugambe
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kavuma
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Luwaga
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fualal
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jombwe
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galukande
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kanyike
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy; D018567:Breast Neoplasms, Male / Q000401:mortality; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014454:Uganda