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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Oncol.
Sec. Breast Cancer
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2024.1459613

Delayed presentation of breast cancer patients and contributing factors in East Africa: systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Chalie Asfaw Chalie Asfaw *Tadele Emagneneh Tadele Emagneneh Getinet Kumie Getinet Kumie Betelhem Ejigu Betelhem Ejigu Abebaw Alamrew Abebaw Alamrew
  • Woldia University, Woldiya, Ethiopia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Breast cancer remains a significant public health issue, with delayed medical attention often leading to advanced stages and poorer survival rates. In East Africa, evidence on the prevalence and factors contributing to the delayed presentation of breast cancer is limited. As a result, this study aims to assess the pooled prevalence of delayed breast cancer presentation and identify contributing factors in East Africa.We conducted a systematic review of observational studies from East Africa using PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Cochrane Library, Hinari, and Mednar databases. The Newcastle Ottawa 2016 Critical Appraisal Checklist assessed methodological quality.Publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Egger's test, and heterogeneity was examined with the I-squared test. Data were extracted with Microsoft Excel and analyzed using Stata 11.The pooled prevalence of delayed presentation among breast cancer patients in East Africa was 61.85% (95% Confidence Interval: 48.83%-74.88%). Significant factors contributing to delayed presentation included visiting traditional healers (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.52; 95% CI: 1.43 -5.59), low educational levels (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.61; 95% CI: 2.39 -4.82), age>40 years (Adjusted Odds Ratio 1.87; 1.03, 2.71), absence of breast pain (Adjusted Odds Ratio 2.42; 1.09, 3.74), distance >5km away from home to health institution (Adjusted Odds Ratio 2.89; 1.54, 4.24), and rural residence (Adjusted Odds Ratio: 3.33; 95% CI: 2.16 -4.49).This meta-analysis's findings demonstrated that over half of breast cancer patients in East Africa delayed detection. Significant factors associated with delayed presentation include age over 40 years, illiteracy, rural residence, use of traditional healers, distance greater than 5 km from a health facility, and absence of breast pain. Healthcare stakeholders and policymakers must be focused on raising awareness and educating people to encourage early detection and prompt therapy.

    Keywords: delay breast cancer, Delay presentation, breast cancer, Associated factors, East Africa

    Received: 04 Jul 2024; Accepted: 25 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Asfaw, Emagneneh, Kumie, Ejigu and Alamrew. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Chalie Asfaw, Woldia University, Woldiya, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.