Health experts have warned of an alarming rise in cancer cases across Africa, urging policymakers, health systems, and communities to step up efforts in early detection, research, and treatment accessibility to curb the growing burden.
The call was made during the ongoing 2025 Basic and Translational Cancer Research Symposium in Accra, a three-day event bringing together medical professionals, researchers, and policy advocates.
Dr. Mariam Mutebi, President of the African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer (AORTIC), emphasized the urgent need for systems that can detect cancer early, especially in the context of Africa’s most prevalent cancers—breast, cervical, prostate, colorectal, esophageal, and gastrointestinal.
“Cancer is not one disease—it is an umbrella term for over 150 types. Unfortunately, across Africa, the majority of patients are diagnosed at advanced stages and often do not complete treatment,” Dr. Mutebi noted.
She identified multiple barriers that hinder timely diagnosis and care. These include out-of-pocket health expenses, delayed diagnosis due to weak referral systems, and deep-rooted social and cultural stigma. “Many patients see up to six healthcare providers before they get a definitive cancer diagnosis,” she said, describing it as a “missed opportunity to strengthen primary healthcare systems.”
Dr. Mutebi also highlighted the role of misinformation and community influence, where some patients are discouraged from seeking medical help in favour of unproven alternative therapies. “Our strength in Africa is community, but sometimes that same community makes decisions that work against the patient’s best interest,” she added.
Despite these challenges, she stressed that several cancers, including breast, prostate, cervical, and colorectal cancers, are highly treatable if detected early. Breast cancer, she noted, remains the most diagnosed cancer in African women, with patients often presenting between the ages of 40 and 55, much younger than in Western populations. Alarmingly, about 40% of breast cancer cases in Africa occur in women under the age of 40.
Comparing outcomes with high-income countries, Dr. Mutebi lamented Africa’s lower survival rates. “In the West, five-year survival rates for breast cancer exceed 90% because of early detection. In Africa, we see the reverse, with very high mortality rates.”
She called for intensified community engagement and education around common signs and symptoms of cancer, as well as reforms to make healthcare systems more responsive once cancer is suspected.
Also addressing the symposium, Dr. Hannah Naa Gogwe Ayettey, a consultant oncologist at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and Secretary General of AORTIC, underscored the dramatic increase in cancer cases. “When I joined in 2005, Korle-Bu recorded around 700 new cancer cases annually. We now see close to 2,800 cases each year,” she revealed.
Dr. Ayettey attributed the rise in part to better reporting but warned that the incidence is genuinely growing, along with challenges in managing aggressive cancers, especially breast cancer in younger women, who often face worse outcomes due to unique genetic and biological traits.
She urged a shift in focus toward locally driven research. “We cannot rely solely on research conducted abroad. Africa has unique genetic profiles and socioeconomic dynamics. We must understand our specific risks and how best to intervene,” she said.
Risk factors discussed at the symposium include genetic predisposition, early menstruation, low parity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and obesity. However, both experts cautioned that risk factors do not automatically mean someone will get cancer, nor does their absence guarantee protection.
Both doctors called for government-backed policy changes to reduce the cost of care, expand insurance coverage, and encourage early screening and vaccination efforts, particularly for human papillomavirus (HPV), which is linked to cervical and other cancers.
The symposium was organised by AORTIC in collaboration with Precision Medicine Group for Aggressive Breast Cancer (PMABC) and Pfizer.
