Breast cancer biomarkers at Niger delta university hospital: Comparisons with national and international trends and clinical significance

Her-2/neu overexpression in breast cancers in patients of West African extraction seen in Lagos state University Teaching hospital, Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Her-2/neu is one of the most important molecular markers of breast cancer. Overexpression of Her-2/neu as evaluated by immunohistochemistry is necessary in the management of breast cancers. This study was performed to determine the proportion of expression of the biomarker amongst breast cancer patients who presented in our 'one-stop breast cancer unit' using automated immunohistochemistry.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Automated immunohistochemical analysis of 107 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients was done for expression of Her-2/neu, between 1st April, 2016 and 30th September, 2018. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 25 for windows and Microsoft excel, 2013.

RESULTS

Her-2/neu was overexpressed in 30.1% patients, and it shows no correlation with age and histological grade of the disease.

CONCLUSION

There is overexpression of Her-2/neu in our local setting, and this observation is very relevant to any therapeutic decisions and management of these patients.

Breast cancer in Africa: prevalence, treatment options, herbal medicines, and socioeconomic determinants

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women worldwide. GLOBOCAN estimated about 1.7 million new cases of breast cancer diagnoses worldwide and about 522,000 deaths in 2012. The burden of breast cancer mortality lies in the developing low-income and middle-income countries, where about 70% of such deaths occur. The incidence of breast cancer is also rising in low-income and middle-income countries in Africa as trend towards urbanization, and adoption of Western lifestyles increases. In general, the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtype tends to be frequent in women of African ancestry. What are the factors contributing to this prevalence? Are there genetic predispositions to TNBC in African women? This review addresses these questions and provides an update on the incidence, survival, and mortality of breast cancer in Africans, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africans. We have also addressed factors that could account for ethical disparities in incidence and mortality. Further, we have highlighted challenges associated with access to essential drug and to healthcare treatment in some African countries and outlined alternative/herbal treatment methods that are increasingly implemented in Africa and other developing nations.