Assessing Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Management in Ghana per the Global Breast Cancer Initiative Key Performance...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Public Health
• Health Systems Research

Background:

• Breast cancer is a leading cause of death globally.
• The World Health Organization's Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) aims to reduce mortality.
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were established by the GBCI to track progress.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate Ghana's breast cancer management against GBCI KPIs.
• To identify areas for system-wide improvement in breast cancer care in Ghana.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of breast cancer patients diagnosed in 2021 at a tertiary hospital in Ghana.
• Data extracted from electronic medical records included diagnosis stage, time to diagnosis, and treatment completion.
• Descriptive statistics were used to compare findings with GBCI KPI benchmarks.

Main Results:

• Out of 243 diagnosed breast cancer patients, 10.3% were early-stage (I/II), 50% stage III, and 39.3% stage IV.
• Diagnosis confirmation occurred within 31 days, meeting the GBCI KPI (<60 days).
• Only 18.5% of patients completed recommended treatment without abandonment, falling short of the >80% KPI.

Conclusions:

• Ghana achieved the GBCI KPI for timely diagnosis.
• Significant gaps exist in early breast cancer detection and treatment completion rates.
• Findings offer baseline data for targeted interventions to reduce breast cancer mortality in Ghana.