The first clinical trial for the treatment of colorectal cancer has been launched at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Under the initiative, colorectal cancer patients will receive free treatment from the OAUTH, Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Medserve’s NSIA-Diagnostic Centre, Lagos.
Addressing journalists at an event to formally unveil the initiative at the OAUTH complex in Ile Ife, on Wednesday, a Professor of Surgery at the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, College of Health Sciences at Obafemi Awolowo University, Olusegun Alatise, said the breakthrough in the treatment of colorectal cancer was a result of a collaboration involving experts from different institutions.
Alatise, who noted that experts from OAU worked with their colleagues from Lagos University Teaching Hospital and Medserve, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, a global leader in cancer care based in the United States, on the project, further said the experts explored the use of a type of immunotherapy called PD-1 blockade in patients with mismatch-repair-deficient colorectal cancer.
Describing the initiative as the “first clinical trial in sub-Saharan Africa to utilise immunotherapy, a treatment that uses a person’s own immune system to fight cancer,” Alatise further stated that colorectal cancer remains a growing health problem in the country with less than half of the patients living one year after diagnosis.
Highlighting other gains of the clinical trial in the management of colorectal cancer in the country, Alatise, who is the National Director, African Research Group for Oncology and a Consultant General Surgeon at the OAUTH, said the research had secured approval of the National Health Research Ethics Committee, an organisation responsible for ensuring that all health research conducted in Nigeria is ethical and globally compliant, and the National Agency for Food Drug Administration and Control.
“The approval of this trial marks an important milestone in the fight against colorectal cancer in Nigeria. Our research could provide vital insights into novel treatment strategies, particularly for patients with limited therapeutic options due to genetic mutations.
“First clinical trial using immunotherapy in Nigeria is now enrolling patients with colorectal Cancer. The historic clinical trial is a global effort between Obafemi Awolowo University, Logos University Teaching Hospital, and Medserve in Nigeria and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in the United States.
“As the study sponsor and data coordinating centre, investigators from MSK will work closely with teams from OAU, LUTH, and Medserve on the research. Additionally, BeOne Medicines will supply and distribute the immunotherapy drug tislelizumab, and BioVentures for Global Health will support the
regulatory approvals in Nigeria.
“We are proud to be part of this groundbreaking trial that brings cutting-edge immunotherapy closer to Nigerian patients with colorectal cancer. This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to advancing cancer care and ensuring that our patients benefit from the very best of global research,” Alatise said.
With the commencement of the trial, Alatise urged patients managing the ailment to approach OAUTH, LUTH and Medserve’s NSIA-Diagnostic Centre, Lagos, for enrollment before treatment at no cost.
The announcement of the commencement of the first clinical trial for colorectal cancer came on this year’s occasion of World Cancer Day celebrations.
World Cancer Day is an international day marked on 4 February to raise awareness of cancer and to encourage its prevention, detection, and treatment.