Nigeria’s cancer experts have warned that the country’s growing cancer burden could worsen unless access to precision radiotherapy treatments such as brachytherapy is rapidly expanded, with specialists saying the country may need up to 200 treatment centres to meet rising demand.
The warning came at the 4th Brachytherapy Summit organised by the Medserve–LUTH Cancer Centre in Lagos, where oncologists, researchers, policymakers and international partners called for urgent investment in advanced cancer treatment infrastructure, workforce training and decentralised care systems.
The summit reflected a major shift in Nigeria’s oncology landscape as specialists pushed for more personalised and image-guided cancer treatment approaches instead of conventional “one-size-fits-all” care. At the centre of the discussions was brachytherapy, a precision-based radiotherapy technique that delivers radiation directly into or near tumours, allowing doctors to target cancer cells more accurately while reducing damage to healthy tissues.
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Bello Abubakar, president of the Association of Radiation and Clinical Oncologists of Nigeria, said brachytherapy has become indispensable in the treatment of cervical cancer, which remains one of the leading causes of cancer deaths among women in Nigeria.
“Brachytherapy is so important in cervical cancer treatment that we say treatment is incomplete without it,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria currently has fewer than 10 brachytherapy centres nationwide, a figure experts described as grossly inadequate for a population exceeding 200 million people. He warned that the shortage of treatment facilities is slowing progress toward global cervical cancer elimination targets and contributing to avoidable deaths.
Health experts at the summit linked the country’s high cancer mortality rate to late diagnosis, poor awareness and limited access to radiotherapy services. Many patients, they said, arrive at hospitals only after their disease has progressed to advanced stages, reducing survival chances and increasing treatment costs.
Lilian Ekpo, director of the Medserve–LUTH Cancer Centre, described brachytherapy as a cornerstone of modern cancer care, especially for gynaecological cancers such as cervical cancer. “Brachytherapy is a treatment targeted directly at the tumour. It is crucial that this treatment is easily accessible,” she said.
She explained that precision-based treatment planning allows clinicians to customise therapy to individual patients, significantly improving outcomes while reducing complications associated with conventional radiation methods.
The summit also drew attention to the scale of Nigeria’s cervical cancer crisis. According to estimates cited from the World Health Organization, the country records more than 12,000 new cervical cancer cases and nearly 8,000 deaths every year.
Experts stressed that the disease is largely preventable through early screening, HPV vaccination and timely treatment, but weak public awareness and poor healthcare access continue to delay diagnosis for many women.
Beyond infrastructure shortages, stakeholders identified manpower deficits as another major challenge confronting cancer care delivery in Nigeria. The country currently faces shortages of radiation oncologists, medical physicists, dosimetrists and radiotherapy technologists needed to operate advanced treatment systems effectively.
To address the gap, the Medserve–LUTH Cancer Centre said it has strengthened training collaborations and professional development programmes aimed at building local expertise in brachytherapy and radiotherapy services across Nigerian hospitals.
Akin Abayomi, Lagos state commissioner for Health, described brachytherapy as a high-impact and cost-effective intervention that could significantly reduce Nigeria’s dependence on foreign medical treatment if properly expanded.
He said Lagos alone requires substantial investment in oncology infrastructure to meet growing patient demand, adding that decentralised cancer treatment services would make care more affordable and accessible for patients outside major cities.
The summit also explored emerging innovations including image-guided brachytherapy and radioligand therapy, which experts described as part of the next phase of cancer treatment development across Africa.
Despite advances in treatment technology, speakers repeatedly warned that without urgent policy support, infrastructure expansion and equitable access to care, many Nigerians would continue to miss opportunities for early diagnosis and life-saving treatment.
The summit ended with a strong consensus among experts that brachytherapy is no longer optional in cancer management but an essential component of modern oncology care needed to improve survival outcomes and curb Nigeria’s rising cancer burden.
