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Breast Cancer Treatment Studies / Advances in Oncology and Radiotherapy · Journal article
Nigerian Journal of Technology · August 12, 2026
A consensus or society position rather than new primary data.
This systematic narrative review identifies critical gaps in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment in Nigeria, where late-stage presentation (61–80% at stages III/IV), low imaging uptake (<5% mammography), and limited access to multimodality care (radiotherapy available to only 25–31% of patients) contribute to a 32% five-year overall survival. The authors call for urgent policy interventions including national screening programmes, radiotherapy expansion, and AI-assisted diagnostics rather than reporting a clinical trial outcome.
Systematic narrative review. Studies focusing on breast cancer imaging, surgical management, and conservative therapies in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, published primarily between 2019 and 2025.. Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa.
Breast cancer accounts for 23% of female cancer diagnoses and 18% of cancer-related deaths in Nigeria, with 32,278 estimated cases in 2022 Late-stage presentation (stages III/IV) occurs in 61–80% of cases at diagnosis Mammography uptake is critically low at <5% nationally; ultrasound achieves 100% sensitivity vs. 85.7% in detecting dense breasts
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Clinicians and policymakers should recognize that the low five-year survival (32%) in Nigeria is attributable not to biology but to systemic barriers: mammography and radiotherapy are unavailable to most patients, and chemotherapy completion is incomplete. Advocacy for national screening, radiotherapy expansion, and improved access to multimodality care is supported by evidence that survival rises to 68% when complete treatment is available.
A systematic narrative review synthesizing evidence on breast cancer imaging, surgery, and conservative therapies in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, identifying treatment gaps and recommending policy interventions rather than testing a specific clinical hypothesis.
As stated by the source record.
Quoted from the source exactly as published.
Clinicians and policymakers should recognize that the low five-year survival (32%) in Nigeria is attributable not to biology but to systemic barriers: mammography and radiotherapy are unavailable to most patients, and chemotherapy completion is incomplete. Advocacy for national screening, radiotherapy expansion, and improved access to multimodality care is supported by evidence that survival rises to 68% when complete treatment is available.
Graded across the dimensions that decide whether you should act, each from what the source actually supports. There is no single score, and where a dimension was not assessed it says so.
Breast cancer remains the leading malignancy among women worldwide and a critical public health challenge, with 2.3 million new cases and 666,000 deaths recorded in 2022. In Nigeria, breast cancer accounts for 23% of female cancer diagnoses and 18% of cancer-related deaths, with an estimated 32,278 cases in 2022. The disease burden is aggravated by late-stage presentation (61–80% at stages III/IV), a high prevalence of aggressive triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC, ~40%), and significant resource limitations. A systematic narrative review was conducted using PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online (AJOL), and institutional repositories. Studies published primarily between 2019 and 2025, focusing on breast cancer imaging, surgical management, and conservative therapies in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa, were included. Search terms included: "breast cancer Nigeria," "mammography Nigeria," "mastectomy Nigeria," "breast-conserving surgery Africa," and "neoadjuvant chemotherapy Nigeria." Studies were assessed for relevance, quality, and recency. Imaging uptake remains critically low (<5% mammography nationally), with ultrasound identified as the more sensitive tool (100% vs. 85.7%) for dense breasts common in Nigerian women. Modified radical mastectomy (MRM) constitutes 90–99% of surgical procedures, while breast-conserving surgery (BCS) accounts for only 2–9.5% of cases, largely due to late presentation, limited radiotherapy access (available to only 25–31% of patients), and a 48% neoadjuvant chemotherapy non-completion rate. Five-year overall survival stands at 32%, rising to 68% with multimodality treatment. Significant gaps exist across all three treatment domains. Urgent policy interventions are needed, including national breast cancer screening programmes, expansion of radiotherapy infrastructure, equitable access to multimodality care, and integration of artificial intelligence-assisted diagnostic tools to improve early detection and survival outcomes in Nigeria.
Taken from the source record, never inferred. Follow any of these and new work involving them reaches your briefing.