Odedina Folakemi T, Shamley Delva, Okoye Ifeoma, Ezeani Adaora, Ndlovu Ntokozo, Dei-Adomakoh Yvonne, Meza Kimberly, Agaba Ruth, Fathi Parisa, Askins Nissa
University of Florida, Orlando, FL.
Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium, Orlando, FL.
JCO Glob Oncol. 2020 Jun;6:932-941. doi: 10.1200/JGO.19.00189.
The burden of cancer in Africa is of significant concern for several reasons, including that incidence of cancer in Africa continues to rise while Africa is also dealing with communicable diseases. To combat cancer in Africa, oncology clinical trials are needed to develop innovative interventions for cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and survivorship. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of clinical trials in Africa and it is difficult for African clinicians to get information on open oncology clinical trials and impossible for African patients with cancer to access this information. The primary objective of this study was to identify open oncology clinical trials in Africa.
This project was part of a large-scale study to develop an African Virtual Platform for Oncology Clinical Trials Registry. The study was a quantitative, web-based, retrospective review of clinical trials registries.
A total of 109 open oncology clinical trials were identified. Most of the trials were in Egypt, South Africa, Algeria, and Kenya. The top cancer types for oncology clinical trials in Africa were breast, cervical, and lung cancers. The top sponsor of oncology clinical trials in Africa was academic institutions, especially institutions in the United States.
The paucity of clinical trials in Africa will continue to magnify the global disparities of cancer in the African population. Clinical trials are needed to ensure therapeutic interventions are safe and effective in the African population. In the era of personalized and precision health, it no longer suffices to assume that drugs developed in North America, Europe, or Asia will be effective in the African population.
非洲的癌症负担令人深感担忧，原因有多个，包括非洲癌症发病率持续上升，同时非洲还在应对传染病。为了抗击非洲的癌症，需要开展肿瘤学临床试验，以开发用于癌症预防、筛查、诊断、治疗和生存的创新干预措施。不幸的是，非洲的临床试验匮乏，非洲临床医生很难获取关于正在进行的肿瘤学临床试验的信息，而非洲癌症患者则根本无法获取此类信息。本研究的主要目的是确定非洲正在进行的肿瘤学临床试验。
该项目是开发非洲肿瘤学临床试验注册虚拟平台的大规模研究的一部分。该研究是对临床试验注册库进行的基于网络的定量回顾性研究。
共确定了109项正在进行的肿瘤学临床试验。大多数试验在埃及、南非、阿尔及利亚和肯尼亚。非洲肿瘤学临床试验的主要癌症类型是乳腺癌、宫颈癌和肺癌。非洲肿瘤学临床试验的主要资助方是学术机构，尤其是美国的机构。
非洲临床试验的匮乏将继续加剧非洲人群癌症方面的全球差异。需要开展临床试验，以确保治疗干预措施在非洲人群中安全有效。在个性化和精准医疗时代，仅仅假定在北美、欧洲或亚洲研发的药物会在非洲人群中有效已不再足够。
