RESUMO
Ovarian cancer is the second most common gynecological cancer worldwide. Little is known about the disease in Sudan. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the incidence rate, age and stage at diagnosis, and median survival time of patients presenting at the National Cancer Institute-University of Gezira (NCI-UG), Sudan. Data were collected in a prospective study of women with ovarian cancer over a period of eleven years of follow-up (between 2000 and 2011). Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the distribution of the demographics of the sample. The direct method was used to compute the age-standardized rate (ASR) using data from the 1966 and 2000 World Standard Populations (WSPs). The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate survival functions and the median survival time. Log-rank tests were used to statistically compare between the survival functions. There were steady increases in ovarian cancer incidence rates between 2000 and 2009, with a slight decline noted in 2010 and 2011. The patients' age range was 9-90. The age-specific incidence rate increased greatly in women aged 55 years or older. The majority of the patients had stage III or IV disease. The annual ASR using WSPs 1966 and 2000 as standard populations were 3.3 and 3.7 per 100,000 women, respectively. The median survival time was 31 months (95% confidence interval, 19-43). The 5-year cumulative survival rate was 38%. In Sudan, ovarian cancer affects postmenopausal women, akin to what is reported in the developed world with high incidence rates. Presenting with advanced stage disease is the predominant factor that results in a short survival time for women.
RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Cancers form one of the major causes of death in children between the ages of one and 15 years. They differ markedly from adult cancers in their nature, distribution and prognosis. The patterns of childhood cancers in America and Europe are almost the same, with leukemia and central nervous system tumors accounting for over one-half of the new cases. In contrast, lymphoma is the most common prevailing cancer of this age group in Africa. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to determine the patterns of childhood cancers in Gezira State, Central Sudan. It is a retrospective study using hospital records. All children with cancer, aged 1 - 15 years diagnosed by means of histological or cytological examination admitted to the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology and Oncology from May 1999 - December 2004 were included in the study. RESULTS: The results showed a pattern of childhood lymphoma as the most common cancer (42.8%) followed by acute lymphoblastic leukemia (19.8%) and kidney tumor (12.8%). The prevalence of cancer was found to be higher among boys (64.7%) than girls (35.3%) with a rate of 1.8:1. Most of the children admitted with cancer were from rural areas (66.1%) compared to (33.9%) from urban areas. CONCLUSION: Lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and bone tumor commonly occurred in children above 5 years in contradistinction to kidney tumor and retinoblastoma which was prevalent in children less than 5 years of age.
