Epidemiology, Management and outcome of malignancies surgically treated at a rural referral hospital in butare, Rwanda

Results: Of 3009 operations performed during the period reviewed, 208(7%) were for malignancies. Patients were predominantly male (59.6%), with a mean age of 51 years (2-91years). 54.8percent had symptoms for more than 1 year before surgery, 52.4% first sought treatment from traditional healers. Gastrointestinal malignancies comprised 37% of all cancer diagnosis, half of them were emergent presentations, for obstruction or peritonitis. Other cancers included intrabdominal tumors (9.6%), soft tissue sarcomas (8.6%), osteosarcoma (8.2%), melanoma (7.7%), penile cancers (7.7%), breast cancers (6.2%) and others (15%). Metastatic disease was present in 44.2% of patients. Surgical care was palliative for52.9%. Only 7.7% received chemotherapy. The in-hospital mortality rate was 26.4%. Mean hospital stay was 25 days (1-342 days). Total medical costs were estimated at $140,000 ($673/patient), most (63%) from hospital stay.