Impact of clinical breast examination-based screening program on care pathway, stage at diagnosis, nature of treatment, and overall survival among breast cancer patients in Morocco.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to indirectly examine whether the implementation of clinical breast examination-based screening program in Morocco has been successful in downstaging and improving survival rates. Breast cancer patients detected through the screening pathway were compared with those detected through self-referral over the same period in terms of cancer stage at diagnosis, tumor characteristics, care delays, and survival. METHODS: A prospective observational study was conducted between April 2019 and August 2020 at two major public oncology centers. RESULTS: A total of 896 women with confirmed breast cancer were recruited (483 were program-referred and 413 were self-referred). The authors did not report any significant difference between the two groups in terms of stage at diagnosis, molecular profile, or histopathological grade. Early-stage cancer (stage I-II) was detected in 55.7% of self-referred participants compared to 55.5% of program-referred participants. Median intervals between symptom recognition, pathological diagnosis, and treatment initiation were not significantly different between the two groups. Similarly, survival after treatment showed no significant difference between patients screened by the program and self-referred patients. The 3-year survival rate after treatment was 94.5% for patients referred through the program and 88.6% for patients not referred through the program (p = .16). CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the importance of equitable and timely access to high-quality diagnosis and treatment facilities, leading to substantial downstaging and enhanced survival rates. Continued efforts to improve quality and expand coverage to include asymptomatic women will consolidate the health infrastructure gains achieved by the Moroccan breast cancer screening program.

Delivering colorectal cancer screening integrated with primary health care services in Morocco: Lessons learned from a demonstration project.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence and mortality rates are increasing rapidly in many low-income and middle-income countries. A demonstration project was implemented in Morocco in collaboration with the Ministry of Health to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and challenges of implementing CRC screening through routine primary care facilities. METHODS: The objective of the project was to screen 10,000 men and women aged 50 to 75 years through 10 primary health centers (PHCs) in 2 provinces. All eligible men and women attending the selected PHCs were offered the fecal immunochemical test (FIT). Stool specimens brought to the PHCs were tested immediately by trained nurses. FIT-positive individuals were referred to the National Oncology Institute for colonoscopy. RESULTS: In total, 9763 eligible men and women were screened by FIT between June 2017 and May 2019; most (73.3%) were women. The test was positive in 460 participants (4.7%). Among the individuals who had positive FIT results, 62.6% underwent colonoscopy. The main reasons for noncompliance to colonoscopy were competing life priorities (15.4%), other health problems (13%), and fear of getting a cancer diagnosis (12.3%). As the number of referrals to colonoscopy increased, the waiting time for the procedure increased, resulting in a drop in compliance. The detection rates of advanced adenomas and CRC were 4.0 in 1000 and 0.5 in 1000 individuals screened, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: An effective strategy to reach the target populations (especially men), a pragmatic assessment of the health system's capacity to deal with large numbers of referrals, and a formal cost-effectiveness analysis are essential before making any decision to introduce CRC screening in Morocco.

Lessons Learnt From Pilot Cervical Cancer Screening and Treatment Programmes Integrated to Routine Primary Health Care Services in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Senegal.

PURPOSE: The project aimed to implement pilot screening and treatment services for cervical cancer integrated with existing primary health centers (PHCs) in Benin, Cote d'Ivoire, and Senegal and evaluate these services using implementation research outcomes such as reach, effectiveness, adoption, and acceptability. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Ministry of Health in each country took the lead in setting up a stakeholder's group that designed a protocol tailored to the local context. The target age was 25-49 years in Benin and Cote d'Ivoire and 30-49 years in Senegal. Visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) was the screening test, and thermal ablation (TA) was the ablative treatment of choice in all. The Ministry in each country identified 4-5 PHCs to set up screening and ablation services and one higher-level center for colposcopy referral. After a master-trainer led training program, nurses, midwives, or general practitioners screened opportunistically the eligible women attending the clinics. The VIA-positive women eligible for ablation were offered immediate treatment. RESULTS: Between May 2018 and January 2021, 16,530 women were screened opportunistically. VIA positivity was 8.1% with huge variability within and between countries. Sixty-one percent of all VIA-positive cases were eligible for immediate TA, and 88% of them accepted same-day treatment. Compliance to TA at PHCs was 99%. Majority of women treated with TA complained of minor side effects. Significant dropouts occurred as the women were referred to colposcopy clinics. CONCLUSION: Opportunistic screening provided as part of routine PHC service can screen many women and treat a significant proportion of screen-positive women with TA with minimal side effects. Primary concerns are the hard-to-reach women who remain out of opportunistic screening coverage and noncompliance of the screen-positive women referred to higher-level centers.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Preventive Practice Towards Breast Cancer among General Practitioner Health Professionals in Morocco

Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer of women in Morocco and its diagnosis is usually made at advanced stages. The aim of this study was to describe the knowledge, practices and attitudes of general practitioners regarding early detection of breast cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out during July 2011 on a sample of 140 general practitioners employed in basic health care facilities. Results: The majority (85.7%) of general practitioners were aware of the existence of a ministerial circular which aimed to generalize breast cancer screening. Systematic practice of clinical breast examination was reported by 18.0% of doctors for every woman between 45 and 70 years and a systematic breast self-examination check-up was reported by 59.4% of physicians. Mammography was requested by 54.1% of physicians in the presence of risk factors. Females and physicians practicing in urban areas were less likely to have a knowledge, attitudes and practices score higher than 8 as compared to male physicians and those practicing in rural areas. Discussion and conclusion: Our study showed that the knowledge, attitudes and practices of general practitioners regarding the early detection of breast cancer program were not satisfactory; hence the urgent need for improved implementation of the program in the affected regions.

Organization and Evaluation of Performance Indicators of a Breast Cancer Screening Program in Meknes-Tafilalt Region, Morocco

Objective: The benefits of screening and early detection of breast cancer, including reduced morbidity and mortality, have been well-reported in the literature. In 2011, a breast cancer screening program was launched in Meknes-Tafilalt region of Morocco. The aim of this study was to evaluate the early performance indicators of this program. Materials and Methods: This retrospective evaluative study was conducted between April 2012 and December 2014, in Meknes-Tafilalt region of Morocco. Several performance indicators of the breast cancer screening program were calculated: the compliance rate, the positivity rate, the referral rate, the cancer detection rate and the organizational indicators. Results: During 2012-2014, a total of 184,951 women participated in the breast cancer screening program. The compliance rate was 26%, the positive rate was 3.3%, the referral rate was 36.7%, and the cancer detection rate was 1.2 per 1,000 women. The median time between the date of clinical breast examination and the date of biopsy (or cyto-puncture) was 36 days. The median time between the date of positive mammography and the date of biopsy (or cyto-puncture) was 6 days. The median time between the date of clinical breast examination and the date of the first received treatment was 61 days. Conclusions: The program needs better monitoring, as well as implementation of quality assurance tools to improve performance in our country.