Five-year single-centre experience of carcinoma of the oesophagus from Blantyre, Malawi



Chetwood, John David, Finch, Peter J, Kankwatira, Anstead, Mallewa, Jane, Gordon, Melita A ORCID: 0000-0002-0629-0884 and Masamba, Leo
(2018) Five-year single-centre experience of carcinoma of the oesophagus from Blantyre, Malawi. BMJ OPEN GASTROENTEROLOGY, 5 (1). e000232-.

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Abstract

<h4>Background</h4>Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is increasing worldwide and has an exceptionally high prevalence in certain distinct geographical locations such as the African oesophageal SCC corridor. Despite this, there is a paucity of evidence to characterise the disease particularly in the Malawian context.<h4>Method</h4>We retrospectively audited our endoscopy database over 5 years, including for patient demographics, endoscopy findings, therapeutic intervention and recommendations for treatment.<h4>Results</h4>1586 patients with oesophageal cancer were identified from a total of 5882 endoscopy records from 2013 to 2017. Our cohort showed a larger proportion of oesophageal cancers found higher in the oesophagus compared with other African studies and a female preponderance in this upper-oesophagus disease subset though a male preponderance overall. 39% of patients with oesophageal cancer underwent bougie dilatation and 11% underwent palliative stent placement, which likely reflects local availability of resources.<h4>Conclusion</h4>This study validates the observation that OSCC predominates in sub-Saharan Africa in Malawi over other forms of oesophageal carcinoma, though our cohort appears to have subtly distinct demographics and disease-specific data. This highlights the need to prioritise preventative and therapeutic strategies for OSCC in this and similar settings.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: cancer epidemiology, carcinogenesis, oesophageal cancer, oesophageal disease, oesophageal lesions
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 17 Oct 2018 15:37
Last Modified: 19 Jan 2023 01:14
DOI: 10.1136/bmjgast-2018-000232
Open Access URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjgast-2018-000232
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URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3027686