Conclusion
We found that optimal pediatric
oncology care in Cameroon is compromised by limited-service availability
and inadequate human resource capacity. In addition, a high proportion
of children eligible for chemotherapy abandoned treatment due to high
cost of treatment package. Furthermore, the lack of harmonization of
data collection tools and the absence of a standard data reporting
mechanism hinders informed decision-making.
Our study suggests an urgent need to expand pediatric oncology case
identification services and build human resource capacity on treatment
initiation, patient education and tracking to minimize dropout rates. In
addition, harmonizing pediatric cancer data collection tools and
designing a reporting scheme will facilitate the creation of a pediatric
cancer registry. In addition, synchronizing pediatric cancer data with
the national health system software will increase the visibility of
pediatric cancer burden across the nation. Once the data has been
collected and centralised, sufficiently equipped technical teams must be
put into action to develop interventions with a high public health
impact. Finally, there is imminent need for the creation of a nation
cancer institute which will bring together cancer specialists
(oncologists, radiologists, surgeons etc) in a common technical
platform.