The incidence of colorectal cancer is on the rise in Nigeria, particularly in the under-50 age group. This can be attributed to the country’s growing life expectancy and non-communicable illness rates.
The African Research Group for Oncology (ARGO) was founded by Dr. Peter Kingham of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) in New York and Prof. Olusegun Isaac Alatise of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria as a result of this trend.
The Global Surgery Office (GSO) at Dalhousie University and ARGO partnered in 2018 when Dr. Gregory Knapp, a general surgeon and surgical oncologist, finished his Global Cancer Disparities Fellowship at MSKCC.
After working with Prof. Alatise for six months in Nigeria, Dr. Knapp conducted a phase II study on the Fecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) as a potential colon cancer screening method in Nigeria. FIT is currently a component of Nova Scotia’s provincial screening program. This examination looks for blood clots in the stool, which may indicate colon cancer early on. The findings, which were just released in Lancet Global Health, are the first to be assessed in West Africa for this widely used screening technique.
In light of Nigeria’s screening gaps and acute endoscopist shortage, Prof. Alatise asked Dr. Knapp to work with him on developing the nation’s first colonoscopy training program.
In April 2024, Prof. Alatise collaborated with Drs. Knapp and Richard Spence (a general surgeon and surgical oncologist at Dalhousie), Dr. Sahle Griffith from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados, Dr. Shilpa Murthy from Yale School of Medicine, and 18 junior consultants from Nigeria to conduct a colonoscopy training program.
Using simulated models, the in-person colonoscopy exam allowed students to rehearse basic scope manipulation after nine weeks of online instruction. Proctored colonoscopies on patients were part of the training, which ended with a thorough skill evaluation.
Through initiatives like this colonoscopy training course, Dalhousie GSO is promoting a global culture of mutual respect in education and lifelong learning in addition to improving surgical skills on a global scale. This program, together with the efforts of Professor Alatise, Doctors Knapp and Spence, and the rest of their team, serve as a reminder that knowledge acquisition is a lifetime endeavor with the potential to create a world that is healthier and more interconnected.
Learn more at: https://yourdoctors.ca/blog/health-care/nigeria-cancer/
Reference: https://yourdoctors.ca/
Photo credits to: https://www.argo-research.org/colonoscopy-capacity-building-programme-for-medical-practitioners/
