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Cancer profile among medical evacuees from São Tomé and Príncipe: a descriptive study (2019-2025)
Liudmila Castelo David1, Teresa Mota Garcia2,3, Isaulina Barreto1
1Hospital Ayres de Menezes, São Tomé e Príncipe.
Background:
São Tomé and Príncipe, a small island developing state, relies heavily on medical evacuations for specialised cancer care. This country does not yet have a population-based cancer registry. Therefore, limited data exist on cancer epidemiology in this population.
Objective:
To characterise the profile of cancer among patients evacuated from São Tomé and Príncipe for medical treatment abroad.
Methods:
Descriptive study of medical evacuation records from the Ministry of Health's Patient Evacuation Board (2019-2025). Descriptive statistics were reported for patient demographics, year of evacuation, primary diagnosis, referring speciality, number of evacuations per patient and if travelled with an escort.
Results:
Of 1,066 total evacuations, 413 (38.7%) were cancer-related. Cancer patients had a mean age of 48.3 ± 18.7 years with female predominance (58.6%). Breast cancer was most frequent (24.7%), followed by prostate (17.9%) and cervical cancer (9.4%). Most patients (76.9%) required single evacuation, with cancer patients more likely to have multiple evacuations.
Conclusion:
Cancer represents a substantial burden among medical evacuees, with patterns suggesting opportunities for enhanced prevention and early detection programs. The high evacuation rate highlights critical gaps in local oncological capacity. Establishing a population-based cancer registry would enhance epidemiological data and inform public health strategies.
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