Radiation Oncology in Nigeria; rescuing a fast receding, yet crucially important medical specialty

Authors

  • A Abdus-Salam
  • S Folorunso
  • B Akinlade
  • M Jimoh
  • B Salako

Abstract

Radiotherapy is an important treatment modality in the management of malignant tumours. It is estimated that more than half of cancer patients diagnosed in Nigeria will require radiotherapy as a component of their treatment. This translates to about a hundred thousand cancer cases requiring radiotherapy in Nigeria on an annual basis. However, radiation facilities in the country are unable to meet this need. There are only eight treatment centres serving the whole country. Each of these centres have limited facilities and are often bedevilled with various problems including equipment breakdown. The travails of radiotherapy practice in Nigeria is discussed in view of the increasing cancer burden in the country. Recommendations are made on how to improve access to radiotherapy care in the country as we go forward.

Keywords: Radiotherapy Oncology Nigeria

Abstrait
La radiothérapie est une modalité de traitement importante dans la prise en charge des tumeurs malignes. On estime que plus de la moitié des patients cancéreux diagnostiqués au Nigéria nécessiteront une radiothérapie dans le cadre de leur traitement. Cela se traduit par une centaine de milliers de cas de cancer nécessitant une radiothérapie au Nigeria sur une base annuelle. Cependant, les installations de radiation du pays ne sont pas en mesure de répondre à ce besoin. Il n’y a que huit centres de traitement desservant tout le pays. Chacun de ces centres a des installations limitées et est souvent confronté à divers problèmes, y compris la panne d’équipement. Les difficultés de la pratique de la radiothérapie au Nigéria sont discutées compte tenu de la
charge croissante du cancer dans le pays. Desrecommandations sont formulées sur la manière d’améliorer l’accès aux soins de radiothérapie dans le pays à mesure que nous progressons.

Mots clés: Radiothérapie Oncologie Nigeria Amélioration

Correspondence: Dr. A. Abdus-salam, Department of Radiation Oncology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.E-mail: adrusa@gmail.com

References

Adewuyi S, Campbell O, Ketiku K, et al. Current status of radiation oncology facilities in Nigeria. West African Journal of Radiology 2013; 20(1):30.

Delaney G, Jacob S, Featherstone C and Barton M. The Role of Radiotherapy in Cancer Treatment: Estimating Optimal Utilization from a Review of Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines. Cancer 2005; 104(6):1129–1137.

Abdus-Salam A, Ogunnorin O and Abdus-Salam R. HIV Seroprevalence in Patients with Carcinoma of the Cervix in Ibadan, Nigeria. Ghana Medical Journal 2008;42(4):141–3.

Durosinmi-Etti FA, Olasinde TA and Solarin EO. A short course postoperative radiotherapy regime for keloid scars in Nigeria. West African Journal of Medicine 1994;13(1):17-19

Seegenschmiedt MH, Micke O, and Muecke R. Radiotherapy for non-malignant disorders: state of the art and update of the evidence-based practice guidelines. The British Journal of Radiology 2015;88(1051):20150080.

Harbour R and Miller JA new system for grading recommendations in evidence based guidelines. BMJ (Clinical Research Ed.) 2001; 323(7308), 334-336.

Ferlay J., Soerjomataram I., Ervik M., et al. GLOBOCAN 2012 v1.0, Cancer Incidence and Mortality Worldwide: IARC CancerBase. No. 11 [Internet]. Lyon, France: International Agency for Research on Cancer. 2013.

Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, et al. Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin [Internet]. 2018 Nov 1 [cited 2019 May 12];68(6):394–424. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3322/caac.21492

UNFPA - United Nations Population Fund [Internet]. [cited 2019 May 16]. Available from: https://www.unfpa.org/data/world-population/NG

Jedy-Agba E., Curado M. P., Ogunbiyi O.et al. . Cancer incidence in Nigeria: a report from population-based cancer registries. Cancer Epidemiology, 2012; 36(5), e271–8.

Ogundipe S and Obinna C. Why cancer is on the rise in the country. Vanguard Newspaper report, http://allafrica.com/stories/200806170258.html 2008 (Retrieved January 27, 2016)

Design and implementation of a radiotherapy programme: Clinical, medical physics, radiation protection and safety aspects. IAEA-TECDOC-1040 pg 3.

Abdel-Wahab M., Bourque JM., Pynda Y. et al. Status of radiotherapy resources in Africa: An International Atomic Energy Agency analysis. The Lancet Oncology. 2013; 14(4):168-175.

International Atomic Energy Agency. Inequity in cancer care: A global Perspective. IAEA Human Health Reports, 2011; 1–37.

Grover S., Xu M. J., Yeager A. et al. A Systematic Review of Radiotherapy Capacity in Low- and Middle-Income Countries. Frontiers in Oncology, 2014; 4, 380.

Downloads

Published

2021-02-22

Issue

Section

Review Articles