Ghana gets first cancer registry centre

The first ever cancer registry centre in Ghana, has been established at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi.

It is known as the Kumasi Cancer Registry Centre, and it’s an initiative of the Oncology Directorate of KATH to collect, store and provide information on various types of cancers in the Kumasi metropolitan area.

The aim is to provide scientifically proven and accurate database on cancers to inform policy decisions on the management and treatment of cancers in the country.

Cancer registry is a systematic collection, storage, analysis, interpretation and reporting on all aspects of cancers.

There are about 200 population-based cancer registries and covers only five per cent of the world’s population.

Dr Baffour Awuah, the Medical Director of KATH, speaking at the launching ceremony, said accurate data was crucial for effective decision making to bring about the needed change in the treatment and management of cancers.

He said the registry was established in 2012 and it is being carried out in collaboration with health facilities under the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in the Kumasi metropolis.

Dr Baffour Awuah, also an Oncologist and Director of the Centre, said 1,070 cases of cancers have been recorded within the first three years of the establishment of the centre.

He said the estimated cumulative frequency was 16.2 per 100,000 people in the coverage population.

Sixty four per cent of the reported cases were females and the mean age for patients, were 50.5 years for male and 51.2 years for female.

Dr Baffour Awuah mentioned breast, cervix, liver and prostate as some of the 10 leading cancers recorded in the registry.

He said the registry was supposed to serve as a research centre and appealed to government to support it with human resource, logistics and adequate office space for its operations.

Dr Joseph Akpaloo, the Chief Executive Officer of KATH, said the hospital had set itself to become a centre of excellence and the establishment of the registry was part of efforts to achieve that target.

He praised the initiators of the project for their foresight and urged them to continue working hard to expand its coverage to provide accurate data for cancer management and treatment in Ghana.