Delayed initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy among women with breast cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Purpose Chemotherapy within 90 days following surgery for non-metastatic breast cancer is the standard of care. There are no data, however, on the extent of time to initiation of chemotherapy (TTC) in Africa settings, including Ethiopia. Methods A total of 223 women with stage I-III breast cancer treated with surgery and adjuvant chemotherapy during 2017–2019 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, were included in the analysis. Based on information from medical records, we calculated TTC from date of surgery and completion of planned chemotherapy, with TTC > 90 days considered delayed and receipt of 85% of planned therapy as complete. Multivariable Poisson regression with robust variance was used to assess whether TTC > 90 days was associated with sociodemographic or clinical factors. Results The median TTC was 63 days. Chemotherapy initiation was delayed in 30% (95% CI 24.4–36.6%) of patients, with the risk significantly higher in low-income women. For example, the risk of delay in women with lowest quartile family monthly income group (US$ < 61) was 3.98 (95% CI 1.67–9.46) higher than in those women with highest quartile family income group (US$ > 194). Remarkably, adjuvant chemotherapy was completed in 95% of patients. Conclusions A staggering one-in-three women with breast cancer in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, delay to initiation of adjuvant chemotherapy, with the delay more common in low-income women and yet with remarkably high degree of treatment adherence. These findings underscore the need for public policy to expand health care to low-income population to improve breast cancer care and other health outcomes in the country.