The Burden of HER-2 Positive Patients in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Caregiver Perspective

Background and context: Several studies showed that the use of the recombinant monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, in addition to adjuvant chemotherapy, for breast cancer with overexpression of the HER-2 protein or amplification of the HER-2/neu gene reduced the risk of recurrence by 50% in women irrespective of nodal status. In Nigeria, breast cancer is the leading and the most common cancer in women. A trastuzumab brand known as Herceptin is the popular brand usually prescribed by the oncologist in Nigeria. Once a histopathology/immune-chemistry result shows HER-2 positive and oncologist informs that patient of the diagnosis being HER-2 positive; most patients emotionally breaks down due to cost of the drugs. In Nigeria, as at 2015 the cost of herceptin 455mg was N650,000 ($1857). As at June 2016 that same drug increased in cost to N1,100,000 ($3142) due to the unstable exchange rate in Nigeria. In Nigeria 90% of patients pay-out of pocket for treatment and drugs as the health insurance system in my countr...