This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
East Africa's Silent Killer ¶
According to statistics, pancreatic cancer is the fastest-rising killer cancer in Kenya and East Africa, with high fatality rates and difficulty in detection and diagnosis.
Published in 2019, Our World in Data, a research team based at the University of Oxford, revealed that in 2017, 667 patients in Kenya died from pancreatic cancer, compared to 188 in 1990.
Similarly, in the entire East African region, the disease has claimed 36,000 lives over the past 27 years between 1990 and 2017.
“Any cancer that arises in the pancreas is hard to detect at an early stage because it presents with non-specific symptoms,” says Fredrick Chite, a medical oncologist and haematologist and director, International Cancer Institute.
Chite further explains that if the cancer is in the tip of the pancreas, a patient may present with yellow eyes (jaundice), allowing for early detection.
Statistics reveal that in 2017, pancreatic cancer caused the death of 419 people in Uganda compared to 125 in 1990, and 774 people died in Tanzania compared to 299 in 1990.
“Pancreatic cancer is difficult to detect and diagnose early because often there aren’t any noticeable signs or symptoms in the early stages,” Chite said.
Warning signs of the disease include stomach ache, indigestion, unexplained weight loss, and faeces that float rather than sink in the lavatory, according to the Pancreatic Cancer UK.
Chite advises that if you have any of these symptoms, it is essential to check with your doctor.
The doctor explains that some risk factors of pancreatic cancer include smoking, obesity, having a personal or family history of diabetes or chronic pancreatitis, and inheriting gene changes from parents that raise the risk of pancreatic cancer.
Diagnosis of pancreas cancer includes physical examination and history, blood chemistry studies, tumour marker test, CT-scan, and abdominal and endoscopic ultrasound.
“Diagnosis is made on tissue biopsy. A biopsy involves the removal of cells or tissues so they can be viewed under a microscope by a pathologist to check for signs of cancer,” Chite says.
Chite further explains that there are several ways to do a biopsy for pancreatic cancer, including fine needle or core needle insertion into the pancreas during an X-ray or ultrasound, or removing tissue during a laparoscopy or surgery.
Statistics from the National Cancer Institute for the period 2014-2018 suggest that 10 per cent of people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the local stage had a five-year survival rate of 32 per cent.
However, if the cancer is at stage III, the five-year survival rate is 12 percent, and by stage IV, the five-year survival rate falls to below three per cent.
