title: Cervical cancer in Ethiopia: survival of 1,059 patients who received oncologic therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Almost 500,000 women are newly diagnosed with cervical cancer (CC) every year, the majority from developing countries. There is little information on the survival of these patients. Our primary objective was to evaluate consecutive CC patients presenting over 4 years at the only radiotherapy center in Ethiopia.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients with CC from September 2008 to September 2012 who received radiotherapy and/or surgery were included (without brachytherapy). Vital status was obtained through telephone contact or patient cards.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 2,300 CC patients, 1,059 patients with standardized treatment were included. At the end of the study, 249 patients had died; surviving patients had a median follow-up of 16.5 months; the 10% and 90% percentiles were 3.0 and 32.7 months, respectively. Mean age was 49 years (21-91 years). The majority of patients presented with International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage IIb-IIIa (46.7%). Because of progression during the waiting time (median 3.8 months), this proportion declined to 19.3% at the beginning of radiotherapy. The 1- and 2-year overall survival probabilities were 90.4% and 73.6%. If assuming a worst-case scenario (i.e., if all patients not available for follow-up after 6 months had died), the 2-year survival probability would be 45.4%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study gives a thorough 4-year overview of treated patients with CC in Ethiopia. Given the limited treatment availability, a relatively high proportion of patients survived 2 years. More prevention and early detection at all levels of the health care system are needed. Increasing the capacity for external-beam radiation as well as options for brachytherapy would facilitate treatment with curative intention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA eva.kantelhardt@medizin.uni-halle.de.
authors.forename: Eva Johanna
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Kantelhardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ulrike
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Moelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Begoihn
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Adamu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Addissie
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Trocchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Bekuretsion
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yonas
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Petros
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hezkiel
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Stang
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Thomssen
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vordermark
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Tufa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gemechu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Yirgu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gebrehiwot
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Tigeneh
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wondemagegnehu
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Abreha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aynalem
authors.affiliation: Department of Gynaecology and Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, Martin Luther University, Halle an der Saale, Germany; School of Public Health, Departments of Pathology and Gynaecology, and Radiotherapy Center, School of Medicine, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Assefa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathewos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015331:Cohort Studies; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005002:Ethiopia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Africa; Ethiopia; Prognosis; Survival; Uterine cervical neoplasms