Cancer in Kenya: at a glance
- There has been a 29% increase in new cancer cases annually, from 37,000 in 2012 to 47,887 in 2018.
- Annual mortality has increased from 28,500 to 32,987.
- 7 in 10 cancers were diagnosed late, resulting in some cancers (such as oesophageal cancer) having mortality rates of more than 99%.
Two key collaborations are tackling healthcare transformation and oesophageal cancer.
Transforming cancer healthcare
The University of Manchester has partnered with the Ministry of Health, Kenya to help tackle the challenges identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in addressing the workforce deficit and increasing understanding of non-communicable diseases in non-European populations.
With Kenyan colleagues, University researchers are seeking to co-produce solutions that can uplift the standard of healthcare, initially focusing on improving cancer outcomes through early detection, rapid diagnosis and the delivery of high quality care.
The Kenya-UK Healthcare Alliance (KUKHA) is focused on creating a resilient healthcare system that can cope with the changing disease burden in the country, from infectious to non-communicable diseases, including cancer, mental health and cardiovascular diseases.
Associated with the increased incidence, there is an increase in the morbidity burden associated with cancer. Consequently, developing a comprehensive cancer care service is an essential part of Kenya delivering on its Vision 2030, which aims to transform Kenya into an industrialised middle- income country with universal health coverage.
"This oesophageal cancer study will go a long way in establishing ways that will tilt the balance to oesophageal cancer being detected at the potentially curative stages, 1 and 2, rather than the late stages, 3 and 4. This will be a game-changer in diagnosis and management of the disease."
Professor F George Njoroge, Chief Scientific Officer at Kenyatta University Teaching / Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH)
Oesophageal cancer
A ground-breaking initiative by Manchester and Kenyan researchers is bringing world-leading oesophageal cancer early detection and research to Kenya.
A unique partnership between The University of Manchester, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, and Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) will raise awareness of squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (OSCC) in Kenya, and increase engagement in public screening opportunities using mobile detection units that travel across the country.
The funding will help establish a central cancer specialist hub at KUTRRH in the capital, Nairobi, which will support local cancer care delivery 'spokes' in five regional counties: Meru, Kiambu, Kisii, Nakuru and Nyeri.
The International Agency for Research in Cancer found that oesophageal cancer is the third most common cancer in Kenya, and the most lethal. 99% of patients die from their disease within five years, with the poor prognosis being directly related to patients with OSCC being diagnosed too late when they have advanced, incurable disease.
This initiative will establish early detection as a part of the Kenyan healthcare system by training healthcare workers to recognise early symptoms of OSCC. It will co-train Kenyan clinicians and healthcare workers in Manchester, and provide continuous, bespoke training in state-of-the-art cancer diagnosis and molecular pathology. The initial trainees, who travel to Manchester, will become future trainers, cancer researchers and carers.
Using next-generation genetic and cell biology approaches, tissue samples taken for patient diagnosis will undergo sophisticated molecular pathology studies to document the abnormal cancer genes and proteins that drive the initial growth, unique biology, and aggression of Kenyan OSCC cancers.
The genetic results will be obtained from all five Kenyan counties, and matched with clinical data and county-level information to try to understand the differences that cause the variable rates of OSCC seen across Kenya. Importantly, these results will also help to identify Kenyans at greatest risk of OSCC.
Learn more about our global health collaborations.