By Juliet Jacob Ochenje
The Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) and International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) have said that a population of 60.9 million women from age 15 are at risk of developing cervical cancer in Nigeria.
In its 2023 fact sheet, they stated that “current estimates indicate that every year, 12,075 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 7,368 die from the disease.
Citing the report, former Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, who is currently of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, noted that these cancer cases were first diagnosed in hospital in advanced stage when definitive cure is no longer feasible.
In his speech at the official unveiling of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Treatment (NICRAT) and the Technical Working Group and Oncology Stakeholders Meeting at NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, Adewole said cancer has become a global health issue of concern, given the associated increased mortality and disability caused by it.
He noted that in 2020, there were almost 18.1 million new cancer cases around the world, while adding that early detection, cancer prevention, management and treatment have improved over the years in high income countries with decreasing mortality and improved survival rates.
“However, the situation is different in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) With the rising population and exposure to risk factors, the number of new cancer incident cases has been rising,” he continued, adding that LMICs lack access to early diagnosis, which results in higher mortality rates of several cancers in comparison with infectious diseases or malnutrition.
