Cancer Care Terminology in African Languages

Effective communication between patients and health care teams is essential in the health care setting for delivering optimal cancer care and increasing cancer awareness. While the significance of communication in health care is widely acknowledged, the topic is largely understudied within African settings.

To assess how the medical language of cancer and oncology translates into African languages and what these translations mean within their cultural context.

In this multinational survey study in Africa, health professionals, community health workers, researchers, and scientists involved in cancer care and research and traditional healers were invited to participate in an online survey on a voluntary basis through online platforms. The survey provided 16 cancer and oncologic terms used in cancer diagnosis and treatment (eg, cancer, radiotherapy) to participants, mostly health care workers, who were asked to provide these terms in their local languages (if the terms existed) followed by a direct or close translation of the meaning in English. The survey was open from February to April 2023.

Patterns of meaning that recurred across languages were identified using thematic analysis of 16 English-translated terms categorized into 5 themes (neutral, negative, positive, phonetic or borrowed, and unknown).

A total of 107 responses (response rate was unavailable given the open and widespread distribution strategy) were collected from 32 countries spanning 44 African languages, with most participants (63 [59%]) aged 18 to 40 years; 54 (50%) were female. Translations for cancer were classified as phonetic or borrowed (34 [32%]), unknown (30 [28%]), neutral (24 [22%]), and negative (19 [18%]), with the latter category including universal connotations of fear, tragedy, incurability, and fatality. Similar elements connoting fear or tragedy were found in translations of terms such as malignant, chronic, and radiotherapy. The term radiotherapy yielded a high percentage of negative connotations (24 [22%]), with a prevailing theme of describing the treatment as being burned or burning with fire, heat, or electricity, which may potentially hinder treatment.

In this survey study of cancer communication and the translation of oncology terminology in African languages, the findings suggest that the terminology may contribute to fear, health disparities, and barriers to care and pose communication difficulties for health professionals. The results reinforce the need for culturally sensitive cancer terminology for improving cancer awareness and communication.