Collaborative research has proven that there are advanced patterns of breast cancer known as ‘Triple Negative Breast Cancer’, more aggressive than other types, and common among women from West Africa, as compared to European and American women.
According to researchers, genetics played a key role in the higher rate of this deadly subtype of cancer, especially in Ghana and Nigeria.
Professor Lisa Newman, a Professor of Surgery, and Executive Director, International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes (ICSBCS), who made this known, stated that in East Africa, there tended to be a lower rate of Triple Negative Breast Cancer.
Explaining this further, she said the trans-Atlantic slave trade brought the ancestors of contemporary Western sub-Saharan Africans across the oceans to America, adding that, contemporary Americans had a lot of shared ancestry with contemporary western sub-Saharan Africans, including Ghanaians.
However, many infectious diseases had different epidemiology in East Africa and research uncovered different genetic markers in East Africans, she disclosed.
Prof. Newman speaking at the opening of ICSBCS 8th annual symposium and 20th anniversary celebration in Kumasi, called for increased efforts in raising awareness of breast cancer in Ghana, urging women to present symptoms of all forms early at facilities.
The programme, which was put together by the Weill Cornell Medicine and the Komfo Ankoye Teaching Hospital (KATH), brought together experts and researchers from across the globe.
It was held on the theme “Improving Breast and Gynecological Cancers Management and Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.”
Prof. Newman underscored the significance of studies and collaborative research in helping experts learn more about the genetics of the tumors to enhance better treatment.
The mission of ICSBCS is, therefore, to reduce the global breast and gynecological cancer burden through advanced research and delivery of care to diverse populations worldwide.
In Ghana breast cancer makes up 31 percent of cancer incidences.
It has been estimated that there will be over 22 million new cases of cancer and 12.7 million cancer related deaths worldwide by 2030.
Tragically, more than half of the new cases and two-thirds of cancer deaths would occur in low and middle-income countries, where access to early accurate diagnosis and quality care are woefully inadequate.
Dr. Ishmael Kyei, General and Breast Surgeon at the Directorate of Surgery, KATH, mentioned that medical professionals had developed new techniques to be able to use a woman’s own body fats and muscles to create new breasts for them to avoid mastectomy.
He asserted that the body image women had when they developed breast cancers were being addressed to make them more confident.
GNA