Zim moves towards combating lung cancer

Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Reporter 

Zimbabwe is moving towards implementing the Hope for Lungs Project, a comprehensive initiative aimed at improving access to early diagnostic services and treatment for lung cancer.

The project, which is being funded by the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation through the Jointed Hands Welfare Organisation, aims to reduce the incidence of lung cancer and improve the quality of life for cancer patients.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide, accounting for approximately 1,8 million deaths annually. In Zimbabwe, an estimated 1,200 new cases of lung cancer are diagnosed annually, 80 percent from tobacco smoking, resulting in around 800 deaths.

An inception meeting was held in Kadoma recently to start the project, bringing together stakeholders from the Ministry of Health and Child Care, healthcare professionals and other partners.

Jointed Hands Welfare Organisation executive director Dr Dennis Tobaiwa said similar initiatives were being implemented in seven other countries under the Multinational Lung Cancer Control Programme.

 “So, you will find, under this, we might be invited as a country to join other partners that are purely focused on lung cancer. The goal is to improve access to early diagnostic services for lung cancer and objective number one is to facilitate policy development. The second objective is to assess the risk factors associated with lung cancer and quantify the true lung cancer burden in targeted populations and standard settings so we don’t want to shoot in the dark,” he said.

The expected outcomes include an improved policy framework that strengthens the overall healthcare system’s capacity to manage lung cancer effectively and promote equitable access to diagnostic treatment and supportive services.

Ministry of Health and Child Care director for non-communicable diseases Dr Justice Mudavanhu said cancer treatment remained a specialised area in the country, requiring targeted interventions.

“Cancer remains at the quaternary and central level, there is not much cancer treatment happening at the district level, but the backbone of our healthcare system is at the district. Cancer cases have been rising over the years. So, for the modifiable risk factors, we are talking about harmful use of alcohol, tobacco use, unhealthy diets, inactivity and environmental factors. But then, there are other genetic factors and so forth. Tobacco is the single largest causative agent of lung cancer accounting for 80 percent of deaths. About 80 to 90 percent of cancer patients are diagnosed at an advanced stage 3 or 4, which is not good,” Dr Mudavanhu said.

He said there were several delays which occurred in the health systems due to various factors including a critical shortage of specialist doctors in the field.

Dr Mudavanhu said the country would next year launch a national cancer control plan which would guide interventions towards cancer control and prevention, including the Hope for Lungs project.

Renowned oncologist Dr Anna Mary Nyakabau hailed the project, which will target seven districts and reach approximately 2,5 million people, with a focus on high-risk populations such as miners, smokers, and those exposed to passive smoke.

“We are going to be looking at raising awareness on lung cancer and other cancers as well. We are also going to be looking at early detection of lung cancer. When you detect the disease early, it is more likely to be curable, whether it is surgery or chemotherapy or radiotherapy such that it improves outcomes of treatment and we get more survivors who also actually help with raising awareness,” she said.

She said increased awareness would help to reduce the stigma associated with cancer.

The burden of lung cancer in the country is significant at about 2,4 percent of all cancer cases.

Unfortunately, Dr Nyakabau said, most of the cases were initially diagnosed as TB, such that by the time they visit the oncologist, the disease would already be far gone.

 “Most of the patients with lung cancer are presenting with advanced-stage disease and this is a disadvantage because when the disease is advanced, it is more difficult to cure. Some of them may respond to treatment the other versions may not respond to treatment and advanced-stage disease is costly to treat. We want to get them when the disease is young and naive such that we can eradicate it. And better still, if we can prevent the disease through looking at all the preventive measures,” she added.

 Tobacco use is a major risk factor for lung cancer, and Zimbabwe has a significant tobacco use problem. 

The country has approximately 864 292 male and 37 181 female adult smokers. The adult smoking prevalence currently stands at 8,5 percent, with 18 percent being men and 0,7 percent being women smokers. 

Statistics show that approximately 8,696 people die from smoking-related illnesses in Zimbabwe each year. 

About 6,4 percent of male and 2,3 percent of female deaths were attributable to tobacco use in 2021, accounting for 4,5 percent of all deaths in Zimbabwe.