Mapping evidence on the distribution of the costs associated with cancer of prostate, cervix, and female breast in the sub-Saharan Africa: protocol for a scoping review

BACKGROUND: Despite the well-documented information on cancer prevention and management, among noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), globally, cancer continues to be the second leading cause of morbidity and mortality with devastating economic consequences. The burden is disproportionately more among developing countries and the extent of evidence available on the economic consequences (direct and indirect costs) of cancer remains unknown in low-income countries particularly in the sub-Saharan region. Understanding the costs of illness is important to inform decision-making on setting up health care policies and informing economic evaluation of interventions. This study aims to map evidence on the distribution of the economic burden (direct and indirect costs) associated with prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of three predominant cancers: prostate, cervix, and female breast in the sub-Saharan Africa. METHODS: This scoping review will be reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), and will be conducted following Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. We will search PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINHAL (via EBSCOhost platform), Science Direct, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Africa-Wide Information, Google Scholar, and WHO Library. We will perform hand-searching of the reference lists of included studies and other relevant documents. Two reviewers will independently screen all citations, full-text articles, and abstract data. We will include primary studies from all study designs reporting costs associated with prevention, diagnosis and treatment of prostate, cervical, and breast cancers in the sub-Saharan region. Data analysis will involve quantitative (e.g., frequencies) and qualitative (e.g., thematic analysis) methods. A narrative summary of findings will be presented. DISCUSSION: This review will map the extent of information available on the economic burden (direct and indirect costs) of prostate, cervical, and breast cancers in the sub-Saharan region. Further guidance for future research in the subject area will be discussed. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13643-021-01672-y.