Incidence of anaemia in female breast cancer patients attending the national cancer institute, Wad Medani

Anaeia is a public health problem that affects populations in both rich and poor countries. Although the primary cause is iron deficiency, it is seldom present in isolation. More frequently it coexists with a number of other causes, such as malaria, parasitic infection, nutritional deficiencies and haemoglobin apathies. That was the people and female in Sudan suffered from it. Anaemia has a high prevalence in patients with cancer. The aim of this study was to find the incidence of anaemia in new cases of Sudanese female breast cancer patients attending the National Cancer Institute [NCI], Gazira State, Sudan. The study was performed on 250 female breast cancer patients mean age 45.99 +/- 0.82 [age range between 15-70 years]. The study period was from May 2005 to June 2007. The haemoglobin level for anaemia was measured by SYSMEX-KX21M. It was found that 144 [58.8%] of the female breast cancer patients presented with anaemia, 65[26.4%] of them were in the child-bearing age group 15-40. The degree of anaemia varied between moderate to severe [grade II to grade IV]. In this study, it was also found that a considerable number of cases 200[80.0%] were from the rural area. 44[17.6%] of the patients were found to be underweight, 31 of them were anaemic. While 105[42%] of patients were overweight and obese, 52 of them were anaemic. It is concluded that the incidence of anaemia in newly diagnosed Sudanese female breast cancer patients presented at NCI is association presentation with advanced disease stage. It is also related to the age, state of nutrition and social economical factors. Early cancer detection which leads to effective treatment and reduced complication of diseases included anaemia is recommended

Calcium status in Sudanese cancer patients attending the institute of nuclear medicine, molecular biology and oncology

The aim of this study was to study the incidence of hypercalcaemia together with the related biochemical parameters and anthropometric measurements in Sudanese cancer patients attending the Institute of Nuclear Medicine, Molecular Biology and Oncology [INMO], Gezira State, Sudan. The study was a prospective study performed on 100 cancer patients [age ranging between 4- 70 years]. The study period was from 15/4/2003 to 1/9/2003. Another 100 persons [age and sex matched] were used as control group. The biochemical parameters measured in this study were serum calcium, serum inorganic phosphorus and serum albumin. Calcium, inorganic phosphorus and albumin were measured by Spectrophotometery. Anthropometrics measurements determined were weight and height. A questionnaire was filled in order to obtain information regarding: age, sex, residence, tribe and information about education, occupation, marital status and past medical history. Type of cancer, date of diagnosis, stage of cancer, treatment, and present complaints were recorded. Hypercalcaemia was detected in ten of the patients [10%]. This is similar to the internationally published rates. The types of cancers associated with hypercalcaemia were cancer of the breast [20%], skin [20%], prostate [10%], bladder [10%], rectum [10%], unknown primary [10%] and hematological malignancies [20%].Mean serum calcium [9.48 +/- 1.07 mg/dL] and inorganic phosphorus [4.45 +/- 1.01 mg/dL] were higher in the cancer patients than the control group [9.03 +/- 0.56, 4.13 +/- 0.72 mg/dL respectively]. However, the difference is statistically not significant. Serum albumin concentration was similar in the patients and control groups [4.97 +/- 0.63 and 4.93 +/- 0.41 g/dL respectively]. The differences of weight and height were not significantly different in the two groups. It is concluded that the calcium, phosphorus and albumin levels among Sudanese individuals were similar to the internationally published levels. Hypercalcaemia is not a rare condition among cancer patients and should be checked whenever there is a symptom because it can lead to many serious complications