Background: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed among women in South Africa, with the aggressive triple-negative subtype comprising approximately 15% of breast cancers in this population. South Africa has the largest population of people with HIV in the world. This study aims to evaluate the association between HIV status and the proportion of patients with breast cancer with the triple-negative subtype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Genetically predisposed breast cancer (BC) patients represent a minor but clinically meaningful subgroup of the disease, with 25% of all cases associated with actionable variants in BRCA1/2. Diagnostic implementation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) resulted in the rare identification of BC patients with double heterozygosity for deleterious variants in genes partaking in homologous recombination repair of DNA. As clinical heterogeneity poses challenges for genetic counseling, this study focused on the occurrence and clinical relevance of double heterozygous BC in South Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes prospective cohort (SABCHO) study was established to investigate survival determinants among HIV-positive and HIV-negative SA women with breast cancer. This paper describes common and unique characteristics of the cancer centres and their participants, examining disparities in pathways to diagnosis, treatment resources and approaches adopted to mitigate resource constraints. The Johannesburg (Jhb), Soweto (Sow), and Durban (Dbn) sites treat mainly urban, relatively better educated and more socioeconomically advantaged patients whereas the Pietermaritzburg (Pmb) and Empangeni (Emp) sites treat predominantly rural, less educated and more impoverished communities The Sow, Jhb, and Emp sites had relatively younger patients (mean ages 54 ±14.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Breast conserving therapy (BCT) is the mainstay therapy in patients with early breast cancer and selected patients with locally advanced breast cancer. No formal audit has been performed on BCT at our institution.
Objectives: To determine the incidence and risk factors for ipsilateral breast tumour recurrence (IBTR).
Introduction: In the South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes (SABCHO) study, we previously found that breast cancer patients living with HIV and treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy achieve lower rates of complete pathologic response than patients without HIV. We now assess the impact of comorbid HIV on receipt of timely and complete neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy.
Materials And Methods: Since June 2015, the SABCHO study has collected data on women diagnosed with breast cancer at 6 South African hospitals.
Objective: In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), advanced-stage diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) is common, and this contributes to poor survival. Understanding the determinants of the stage at diagnosis will aid in designing interventions to downstage disease and improve survival from BC in LMICs.
Methods: Within the South African Breast Cancers and HIV Outcomes (SABCHO) cohort, we examined factors affecting the stage at diagnosis of histologically confirmed invasive breast cancer at five tertiary hospitals in South Africa (SA).
Background: Breast cancer survival in South Africa is low, but when diagnosed with breast cancer, many women in South Africa also have other chronic conditions. We investigated the impact of multimorbidity (≥ 2 other chronic conditions) on overall survival among women with breast cancer in South Africa.
Methods: Between 1 July 2015 and 31 December 2019, we enrolled women newly diagnosed with breast cancer at six public hospitals participating in the South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes (SABCHO) Study.
Background: In high-income settings, delays from breast cancer (BC) diagnosis to initial treatment worsen overall survival (OS). We examined how time to BC treatment initiation (TTI) impacts OS in South Africa (SA).
Methods: We evaluated women enrolled in the South African BC and HIV Outcomes study between July 1, 2015 and June 30, 2019, selecting women with stages I-III BC who received surgery and chemotherapy.
In some countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the prevalence of HIV exceeds 20%; in South Africa, 20.4% of people are living with HIV. We examined the impact of HIV infection on the overall survival (OS) of women with nonmetastatic breast cancer (BC) enrolled in the South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes (SABCHO) study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKnowledge of the genetic landscape of a specific population group is vital for population-specific diagnosis and treatment of familial breast cancer. Although BRCA-related diagnostic testing has long been implemented in South Africa, the genotyping approach previously failed for the SA Indian population as it was based on other SA population groups. Because this population is uniquely admixed, the lack of population-specific data resulted in the implementation of comprehensive mutation screens for BRCA1/2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Advanced breast cancer (BC) at diagnosis is common in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), including among women living with HIV (WLWH). In public hospitals across South Africa (SA), 10-15% of women present with stage IV BC, compared to < 5% in the United States (US); 20% of new BC diagnoses in SA are in WLWH. We evaluated the impact of HIV on overall survival (OS) among women with stage IV BC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: High-quality histopathology reporting forms the basis for treatment decisions. The quality indicator for pathology reports from the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists was applied to a cohort from four South African breast units.
Methods: The study included 1,850 patients with invasive breast cancer and evaluated 1,850 core biopsies and 1,158 surgical specimen reports with cross-center comparisons.
Purpose: Among patients diagnosed with breast cancer (BC), women also living with HIV (WLWH) have worse survival than women without HIV. Chronic HIV infection may interfere with the effectiveness of BC treatment, contributing to this disparity. We attempted to determine the impact of HIV infection on response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) among South African women with BC.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: The quality of breast cancer care in sub-Saharan Africa contributes to the region's dismal breast cancer mortality. ASCO has issued quality measures focusing on delivery of adjuvant chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and endocrine therapy. We applied these measures in five South African public hospitals and analyzed factors associated with care concordance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMultimorbidity in women with breast cancer may delay presentation, affect treatment decisions and outcomes. We described the multimorbidity profile of women with breast cancer, its determinants, associations with stage at diagnosis and treatments received. We collected self-reported data on five chronic conditions (hypertension, diabetes, cerebrovascular diseases, asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis), determined obesity using body mass index (BMI) and tested HIV status, in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer between January 2016 and April 2018 in five public hospitals in South Africa.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In the U.S., neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for nonmetastatic breast cancer (BC) is used with extensive disease and aggressive molecular subtypes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: In low- and middle-income, HIV-endemic regions of sub-Saharan Africa, morbidity and mortality from the common epithelial cancers of the developed world are rising. Even among HIV-infected individuals, access to antiretroviral therapy has enhanced life expectancy, shifting the distribution of cancer diagnoses toward non-AIDS-defining malignancies, including breast cancer. Building on our prior research, we recently initiated the South African Breast Cancer and HIV Outcomes study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The effect of breast cancer on elderly South African (SA) patients is not well characterised. The lack of data with regard to disease burden, post-treatment surveillance and breast cancer relapse poses a challenge to providing optimum follow-up care to this group of patients.
Objectives: To assess the effect of breast cancer and adherence to post-treatment surveillance programmes among the local elderly population attending the breast oncology clinics at Addington and Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central hospitals in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, SA.
Background: Breast tuberculosis (BTB) is uncommon, but not rare. Knowledge of the ways in which it can present can prevent unnecessary invasive procedures and delay in diagnosis.
Objectives: To describe the clinical and radiological findings in patients with BTB, including evaluation of current treatment methods.
Background: Oncoplastic surgery (OPS) has emerged as a new approach for extending breast conserving surgery (BCS) possibilities, reducing both mastectomy and re-excision rates, while avoiding breast deformities. OPS is based upon the integration of plastic surgery techniques for immediate reshaping after wide excision for breast cancer. A simple guide for choosing the appropriate OPS procedure is not available.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOncoplastic surgery is the seamless joining of the extirpative and reconstructive aspects of breast surgery that is performed by a single surgeon. A symposium was held at ISW 2007 in Montreal with a prearranged aim to publish an article on the current and historical record of the developing specialty of oncoplastic breast surgery. The presenters and authors are well-known breast surgeons from Australia, Croatia, India, Sweden, and South Africa.
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