Ogunniyi Tolulope Joseph, Fatokun Boluwatife Samuel, Isah Kafayat Omolara, Abdulbaki Asmau, Emiola Adeola Roqeebat, Batisani Kesaobaka
Department of Medical Microbiology and Parasitology University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital Ilorin Kwara State Nigeria.
Department of Medical Laboratory Science Federal Teaching Hospital Ido Ekiti Ekiti State Nigeria.
Health Sci Rep. 2025 May 29;8(6):e70877. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.70877. eCollection 2025 Jun.
Cancer has emerged as a leading cause of death worldwide, surpassing HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. Nigeria's cases and deaths continue to increase every year due to the high cancer burden that affects the country. There were 269,109 new cancer cases registered in 2022, with breast and prostate cancer being the most prevalent. Despite improvements made, several problems related to the diagnosis and treatment of cancer across the nation remain. This paper reviews these issues while discussing what is being done to establish an efficient system for managing cancer care in Nigeria.
This review utilizes publicly available sources such as GLOBOCAN, Google Scholar, PubMed, and other gray literature. The search was focused on challenges and efforts regarding the diagnosis and treatment of cancers, using Nigeria as one of the main filters.
In the review, substantial obstacles to diagnosing and treating cancer in Nigeria included insufficient diagnostic equipment, high out-of-pocket healthcare costs, as well as delayed diagnosis due to the unavailability of health information and service delivery. With only 27 cancer treatment centers available for a population of 218.5 million people, patients encounter delays as well as financial burdens. Efforts have been made, such as establishing cancer centers, launching the Cancer Health Fund, and introducing policies to improve screening and treatment accessibility, like the National Strategic Cancer Control Plan. Also, the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Cancer Treatment Centre, from its inauguration in 2019-2024, has treated more than 10,064 patients, providing 8528 radiotherapies, 6733 chemotherapies, and 215 high-dose rate 3D brachytherapy sessions, revitalizing an industry previously unable to adequately address cancer in Nigeria.
Nigeria still faces immense challenges in improving cancer diagnosis and treatment. Although recent initiatives are encouraging, enhanced policies and funding are still needed. The provision of more diagnostic services, awareness concerning various types of cancers, and an increase in treatment facilities will be vital to improving cancer care in Nigeria.
癌症已成为全球主要死因，超过了艾滋病、结核病和疟疾三者的总和。由于影响该国的癌症负担沉重，尼日利亚的癌症病例和死亡人数每年都在持续增加。2022年登记了269,109例新癌症病例，其中乳腺癌和前列腺癌最为常见。尽管已取得进展，但全国范围内与癌症诊断和治疗相关的若干问题依然存在。本文在讨论为在尼日利亚建立高效癌症护理管理系统所做工作的同时，对这些问题进行了综述。
本综述利用了公开可用的资源，如全球癌症观测站（GLOBOCAN）、谷歌学术、PubMed以及其他灰色文献。搜索重点是尼日利亚癌症诊断和治疗方面的挑战与努力。
在本次综述中，尼日利亚癌症诊断和治疗存在的重大障碍包括诊断设备不足、高额自付医疗费用，以及由于健康信息和服务提供不可用导致的诊断延误。在2.185亿人口中仅有27个癌症治疗中心，患者面临延误和经济负担。已做出了一些努力，比如建立癌症中心、启动癌症健康基金，以及出台政策以改善筛查和治疗的可及性，如《国家癌症控制战略计划》。此外，尼日利亚主权投资局（NSIA）和拉各斯大学教学医院（LUTH）癌症治疗中心自2019年至2024年开业以来，已治疗了超过10,064名患者，提供了8528次放射治疗、6733次化疗以及215次高剂量率三维近距离放射治疗疗程，重振了此前在尼日利亚无法充分应对癌症的行业。
尼日利亚在改善癌症诊断和治疗方面仍面临巨大挑战。尽管近期的举措令人鼓舞，但仍需要加强政策和资金投入。提供更多诊断服务、提高对各类癌症的认识以及增加治疗设施对于改善尼日利亚的癌症护理至关重要。
