Cancer Screening by Computed Tomography Scanning in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Ghanaian Perspective.
Edmund K. Brakohiapa1, Eric K. Ofori 2, Jerry Coleman 3, William K. Antwi 4 and Klenam D. Tettey5
1 University of Ghana Medical School,Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
2, 4 School of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana.
3, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
5 Radiology Department, Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Korle-Bu, Accra, Ghana.
E-mail: ebrakohiapa2000@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Early diagnosis and treatment is of utmost importance when cancer management is concerned, since a good prognosis usually correlates well with a smaller tumour stage. This study aimed to ascertain the commonest sites of tumour occurrence, and the smallest size at which tumours can be detected using computed tomography scanning, to aid in advocacy for its use in early tumour detection. A retrospective descriptive study was conducted using data extracted from request forms and corresponding radiological reports of 262 patients who presented for Computed Tomography (CT) scanning with a history indicative of a tumour at the Radiology Department of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) in January 2011. The request forms and their corresponding reports were obtained from the departmental archives. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 17 was used to analyse the data collected descriptively. Fifty-eight patients had focal tumours, 31 (53.4%) were males whiles 27 (46.6%) were females. The mean age and standard deviation of the 58 patients was 50.2 years ± 17.8. The smallest tumour size was less than 2cm and the largest was greater than 10cm.The three commonest tumour sites recorded in this study were the brain, kidney and liver in decreasing order of frequency. The study has given an indication of the smallest size and the three most common sites of tumour occurrence in the study population. In view of the high radiation burden from CT scanning, diagnosing tumours using ultrasound would be more appropriate, except in obese individuals where ultrasonographic visualisation is limited.