Factors leading to the late diagnosis and poor outcomes of breast cancer in Matabeleland South and the Bulawayo Metropolitan Provinces in Zimbabwe.

Introduction: Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cause of female cancer deaths in Africa, and in Zimbabwe, >80% present with advanced disease. A Needs Project (NP) was carried out to determine the key factors responsible for delayed diagnosis and poor BC outcomes and to investigate possible solutions in 6 rural and urban districts of Matabeleland South and Bulawayo Metropolitan Provinces.

Methods: A mixed method approach was used to collect data in 2 phases.

Oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery for women with primary breast cancer.

Background: Oncoplastic breast-conserving surgery (O-BCS) involves removing the tumour in the breast and using plastic surgery techniques to reconstruct the breast. The adequacy of published evidence on the safety and efficacy of O-BCS for the treatment of breast cancer compared to other surgical options for breast cancer is still debatable. It is estimated that the local recurrence rate is similar to standard breast-conserving surgery (S-BCS) and also mastectomy, but the aesthetic and patient-reported outcomes may be improved with oncoplastic techniques.

Extreme oncoplastic conservation is a safe new alternative to mastectomy.

Objectives: Extreme oncoplastic breast conserving surgery (eOPBCS) allows breast conservation for tumours ≥ 50 mm, but long-term outcomes are unclear. We investigated early complications and the longer-term clinical and oncological outcomes following eOPBCS to assess the clinical utility and safety of this technique.

Materials And Methods: A prospectively collected database of all eOPBCS procedures (1993-2016) using LD miniflaps (LDm) and therapeutic mammoplasties (TM) was interrogated and cross-checked with hospital records to establish length of follow up (FU), clinical outcomes (complications, revisions), local recurrence (LR) and survival.