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64
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Introduction
Current institution
Additional affiliations
September 2020 - present
October 2007 - January 2023
Education
October 2007 - September 2014
West African College of Surgeons
Field of study
- General Surgery
Publications
Publications (64)
Anomalies of the urachus, such as urachal cyst, albeit rare among the adult populace, pose an arsenal of myriad presentations among such age groups, leading to a high rate of misdiagnosis. Late diagnosis can predispose affected individuals to several complications such as cyst rupture, cyst infection with attending sepsis, fistula formation as well...
PURPOSE
The WHO's Global Breast Cancer Initiative (GBCI) described three key performance indicators (KPIs) to reduce breast cancer deaths worldwide. We assessed the management of breast cancer in Ghana against the GBCI KPIs to inform necessary steps for system-wide improvement.
METHODS
We reviewed patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021 cale...
Precision medicine approaches to cancer treatment aim to exploit genomic alterations that are specific to individual patients to tailor therapeutic strategies. Yet, some targetable genes and pathways are essential for tumor cell viability even in the absence of direct genomic alterations. In underrepresented populations, the mutational landscape an...
Background
Significant advances have been made in targeted therapeutics and systemic therapy regimens for breast cancer (BC) treatment over the past decade. Tumour cells can however remain in the body, leading to locoregional relapse and/or metastasis. Subtypes of BC have distinct prognostic effects and have been linked to varying risks of early lo...
There is a critical lack of surgical capacity for the growing burden of cancer care in West Africa. To address this gap, the development of a surgical oncology fellowship training program was proposed. However, given the limited data needed to inform the creation of this program, a comprehensive needs assessment and environmental scan of the curren...
African American women have been observed to have higher rates of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) diagnosis, earlier age of onset, and higher mortality rates from TNBC compared to European American women. Recent studies have shown that TNBC tumors exhibit increased immunogenicity. This heightened immune cell infiltration is associated with bet...
Background Timely and safe elective health care facilitates return to normal activities for patients and prevents
emergency admissions. Surgery is a cornerstone of elective care and relies on complex pathways. This study aimed to
take a whole-system approach to evaluating access to and quality of elective health care globally, using inguinal hernia...
Aim: This study explored the sexuality-related lived experiences of women diagnosed with breast cancer during multimodal breast cancer treatment. Study Design: Qualitative exploratory descriptive design. Place and Duration of Study: Participants were recruited from the Oncology Department of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Ghana from March to M...
A critical shortage of skilled healthcare workers is a primary cause of disparate global cancer outcomes. We report participant evaluation of a multidisciplinary preceptorship program. In collaboration with the city of Kumasi, Ghana, Mayo Clinic and the City Cancer Challenge hosted a preceptorship program for comprehensive multidisciplinary breast...
Breast cancer is increasingly common among young women in Ghana. BCa is heterogeneous with
unique traits that impact causes, prognostic, and predictive outcomes of patients before and after
menopause. However, limited evidence exists on differences between young premenopausal (YPM)
and postmenopausal cases in Ghana. This study compared breast tumou...
Precision medicine approaches to cancer treatment aim to exploit genomic alterations that are specific to individual patients to tailor therapy strategies. These alterations are usually revealed via next generation sequencing of the tumor tissue. Yet, it is clear that some targetable genes and pathways are essential for tumor cell viability even in...
Precision medicine approaches to cancer treatment aim to exploit genomic alterations that are specific to individual patients to tailor therapy strategies. These alterations are usually revealed via next generation sequencing of the tumor tissue. Yet, it is clear that some targetable genes and pathways are essential for tumor cell viability even in...
Background
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour is a rare but potentially curable tumour of the gastrointestinal tract accounting for up to 1% of all gastrointestinal tumours. The discovery of Imatinib mesylate, a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor has improved the chances even for unresectable, recurrent, or metastatic diseases.
Methods
This study sought...
Poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) are used for patients with BRCA1/2 mutations, but patients with other mutations may benefit from PARPi treatment. Another mutation that is present in more cancers than BRCA1/2 is mutation to the TP53 gene. In 2D breast cancer cell lines, mutant p53 (mtp53) proteins tightly associate with replicating D...
Background
Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour is a rare but potentially curable tumour of the gastrointestinal tract accounting for up to 1% of all gastrointestinal tumours. The discovery of Imatinib mesylate, a novel tyrosine kinase inhibitor has improved the chances even for unresectable, recurrent, or metastatic diseases.
Methods
This study sought...
Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) represents the most aggressive subtype of breast cancer (BC),often diagnosed as early-onset and late-stage disease with worse prognosis due to lack of targeted therapeutic options. In the US, approximately 10% of BC diagnoses annually are TNBC, however, frequency of TNBC diagnoses are significantly higher among...
Background: Breast cancer (BC) is a leading cause of cancer death in Ghana and around the world. Ghanaian women are diagnosed at younger ages with the more aggressive Triple Negative BC (TNBC) subtype where West African ancestry is associated with advanced BC diagnosis and higher mortality rates compared to age-matched women of European ancestry. G...
Upper GI bleeding from GIST is rare in Africa. The C‐kit‐negative variant is uncommon worldwide. We report a case of a 42‐year‐old woman managed for upper GI bleeding secondary to stomach GIST, negative for CD117 but positive for DOG 1 and CD 34. The 1‐year postsurgery review is uneventful. C‐kit‐negative variant of GIST is uncommon. We report a ca...
Our recent efforts to define ancestry-specific drivers in triple negative breast tumors (TNBC) has been sharply focused on identifying African (AFR) ancestry-associated gene signatures, which we have reported to be distinct from traditional approaches using SRR to categorize patients. In our AFR ancestry enriched TNBC cohort, we have identified a 6...
Purpose:
Delivering high-quality cancer care to patients through a multidisciplinary team (MDT) care approach remains a challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries characterized by fragmented health systems and limited human resources for cancer care. City Cancer Challenge (C/Can) is supporting cities in low- and middle-income coun...
Women of sub-Saharan African descent have disproportionately higher incidence of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and TNBC-specific mortality across all populations. Population studies show racial differences in TNBC biology, including higher prevalence of basal-like and quadruple-negative subtypes in African Americans (AA). However, previous i...
Breast cancer is a polygenic genetic disease caused by multifaceted factors which are often unique for each individual patient. In our prior studies we have demonstrated that west African ancestry is associated with more aggressive breast tumor phenotypes. Precision medicine approaches to cancer treatment exploit genetic differences to tailor thera...
Introduction:
Diaphragmatic injuries may be associated with thoracoabdominal blunt or penetrating traumas. The diagnosis is often delayed, despite the availability of several medical imaging modalities. The surgical management remains controversial, in terms of the choice of surgical approach and the surgical repair technique.
Aim:
To evaluate t...
Women of sub-Saharan African ancestry have disproportionately higher incidence of aggressive, early-onset Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC), and TNBC mortality across all race groups. Population-based comparative studies show racial differences in TNBC tumor biology, with higher prevalence of basal-like and Quadruple-Negative subtypes in African...
Introduction Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer related deaths in women worldwide; however, significant disparities are evident in the epidemiology of breast cancer subtypes and clinical outcomes of different racial/ethnic groups. African Americans are 40% more likely to die from breast cancer—a disparity that is partially explained b...
DARC/ACKR1 erythrocyte expression, also known as the “Duffy blood group,” is understood to sequester pro-inflammatory chemokines and thereby regulate circulating gradients that direct immune cell infiltration. We hypothesize that this function also determines immune cell landscapes in the tumor microenvironment. Due to evolutionary selection pressu...
SARS-CoV-2 has been associated with an increased rate of venous thromboembolism in critically ill patients.Since surgical patients are already at higher risk of venous thromboembolism than general populations, thisstudy aimed to determine if patients with peri-operative or prior SARS-CoV-2 were at further increased risk ofvenous thromboembolism. We...
p>Purpose: Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in Ghanaian women and the leading cause of cancer mortality. There have been significant improvements in the management of breast disease over the years through various partnerships and interventions. This work set out to assess one such intervention, led by the International Center for the Stu...
Large-scale efforts to identify breast cancer (BC) risk alleles have historically taken place among women of European ancestry. Recently, there are new efforts to verify if these alleles increase risk in African American (AA) women as well. We investigated the effect of previously reported AA breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) r...
PurposeTriple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive subtype most prevalent among women of Western Sub-Saharan African ancestry. It accounts for 15–25% of African American (AA) breast cancers (BC) and up to 80% of Ghanaian breast cancers, thus contributing to outcome disparities in BC for black women. The aggressive biology of TNBC has been...
Peri-operative SARS-CoV-2 infection increases postoperative mortality. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal duration of planned delay before surgery in patients who have had SARS-CoV-2 infection. This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study included patients undergoing elective or emergency surgery during October 2020. Su...
Large-scale efforts to identify breast cancer risk alleles have historically taken place among women on European ancestry, with recent efforts to validate these alleles or identify risk alleles applicable to women of African descent. We investigated the effect of previously reported breast cancer and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) risk allele...
Background
About 85% of breast cancer patients attending Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ghana, present with stage III/IV disease. In spite of great investments into the early diagnosis and management of breast cancer, late presentation persists and poses a barrier to realising the possible benefits of the gains made in breast cancer managem...
Aims: We aimed at auditing hernia surgeries performed at a secondary care center and determine the outcome of surgery based on the grade of operating surgeon. Study Design: A single center retrospective study. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Surgery of Ashanti regional Hospital between October 2015 to September 2018. Methodology: We incl...
Introduction: About 85% of breast cancer patients attending Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ghana, present with stage III/IV disease. In spite of great investments into the early diagnosis and management of breast cancer, late presentation persists and poses a barrier to realising the possible benefits of the gains made in breast cancer mana...
BACKGROUND: About 85% of breast cancer patients attending Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), Ghana, present with stage III/IV disease. In spite of great investments into the early diagnosis and management of breast cancer, late presentation persists and poses a barrier to realising the possible benefits of the gains made in breast cancer manage...
A review of theatre records at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), a tertiary hospital in Kumasi, Ghana, from 2016-2018 showed increasing default to elective surgical appointment. This study evaluates the causes of defaulting to surgical appointments. This is a prospective survey among elective surgical patients who defaulted surgical appoin...
Introduction:
Global health initiatives provide exciting opportunities for capacity-building in low- and middle-income countries but data regarding how African clinicians characterize the most effective partnerships are lacking.
Methods:
We surveyed attendees at two "Breast Cancer in Africa" symposia sponsored through a surgeon-led global breast...
Objective:
To investigate subtype-specific risk of germline alleles associated with triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) in African ancestry populations.
Background:
Breast cancer (BC) mortality is higher in African American (AA) compared to White American (WA) women; this disparity is partly explained by 2-fold higher TNBC incidence.
Methods:...
Background:
Endocrine disorders have been noted to be on the increase in the developing world, but little is known about their outcomes on the African continent.
Methods:
We conducted a retrospective longitudinal study to evaluate the demographic characteristics and determinants of endocrine-related mortality among adult patients over 9 y in a l...
Abstract Background Diabetes-related lower limb amputations (LLA) are associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Although the incidence has decreased over the past two decades in most High-Income Countries, the situation in Low-Middle Income Countries (LMIC), especially those in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is not clear. We have determined th...
The worldwide burden of breast cancer is rising, with disproportionate increases in the low- and middle-income countries of sub-Saharan Africa.¹ Breast cancer case fatality rates are notably higher for these regions² because of advanced stage distribution associated with inadequate health care access and sparse oncology resources.³,4 These issues h...
Background: Population-based incidence rates of breast cancer (BC) that does not express the estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) or overexpress the human epidermal growth factor 2 HER2/ neu (triple negative breast cancer, TNBC) are higher among Africans compared with white women. However the underlying biologic and genetic difference...
Background: Diabetic foot remains a challenge in most low-middle-income countries (LMICs). A severe deficit in data exists on them in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Up-to-date data on the longitudinal trajectories and determinants can provide a benchmark for reducing diabetic foot complications in SSA. Objective: The primary objective of this study was...
Background
Graves disease (GD) has increased in prevalence over the past decade in Africa. Despite this, the condition is not well described, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
Objective
We have described the clinical characteristics and associated factors of GD in a cohort of patients attending a resource-limited setting tertiary hospital.
Method...
This abstract was withdrawn by the authors.
Background
Thyroid dysfunction is known to exaggerate the coronary heart disease (CHD) risk associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) among whites. The effect is yet to be studied among African populations.
Methods
This is a cross-sectional study involving 780 T2DM patients enrolled in a diabetes clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. CHD risk was estimat...
Background
Ghana began mandatory iodization of salt in 1996. This study compares the prevalence of thyroid disorders before and after the introduction of iodization.
Methods
This is a retrospective study of thyroid cases from the middle belt of Ghana between 1982 and 2014. To demonstrate a link between iodization and hyperthyroidism and autoimmuni...
Background. Although an increasing burden of endocrine disorders is recorded worldwide, the greatest increase is occurring in developing countries. However, the spectrum of these disorders is not well described in most developing countries. Objective. The objective of this study was to profile the frequency of endocrine disorders and their basic de...
Introduction:
Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is more common among African American (AA) and western sub-Saharan African breast cancer (BC) patients compared with White/Caucasian Americans (WA) and Europeans. Little is known about TNBC in east Africa.
Methods:
Invasive BC diagnosed 1998-2014 were evaluated: WA and AA patients from the Henry...
Women with African ancestry in western, sub-Saharan Africa and in the United States represent a population subset facing an increased risk of being diagnosed with biologically aggressive phenotypes of breast cancer that are negative for the estrogen receptor, the progesterone receptor, and the HER2/neu marker. These tumors are commonly referred to...
Sclerosing stromal tumour (SST) is a rare benign sex cord stromal tumour of the ovary. We report a case of sclerosing stromal tumour of the mesentery in a 32-year-old Para one who presented with intra abdominal mass, menstrual irregularity and secondary infertility. Histopathology and immunohistochemistry of the completely excised tumour was consis...
Introduction: Population-based incidence rates of triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) are higher for African American (AA) compared to White American (WA) women, but it is unclear whether TNBC risk is genetically associated with African ancestry because AA women represent an ancestrally admixed population. Higher frequencies of TNBC have also been...
This study aimed to describe the epidemiology and outcomes of intestinal obstruction at a tertiary hospital in Ghana over time.
Records of all patients admitted to a tertiary hospital from 2007 to 2011 with intestinal obstruction were identified using ICD-9 codes. Sociodemographic and clinical data were compared to a previously published series of...
The androgen receptor (AR) is a commonly-expressed hormone receptor in breast cancer and may be a marker of response to targeted anti-androgen therapy, a particularly attractive option for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Gene expression studies suggest that ARs may distinguish a luminal/AR TNBC subtype from stem cell-like subtypes. TNBC frequ...
Background: Issues of breast developmental anomalies (BDA) among young females in Sogakope have not been given proper attention due to their ignorance of available treatments. The objective of this study was to identify the most common forms and incidence of BDA among female Junior High School (JHS) students. Method: It was a prospective descriptiv...
