….vows to explore nuclear medicine in diagnosis, treatment

By James Ogunnaike, Abeokuta

The federal government on Friday expressed its readiness to explore nuclear medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of all forms of diseases, including cancers.

It also launched a mechanism, codename ‘Oncoseek’, that can detect nine high mortality cancers at early stage.

The Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Kunle Salako, who disclosed this at a workshop organized by the National Nuclear Medicine Technical Working Group, held in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, noted that screening services that can detect cancers early or even at the precancerous stage is an important mechanism in the prevention and control of cancer.

“Oncoseek, is a blood based test that can be used for early detection of 9 high mortality cancers including nine high-mortality cancer types, including breast, colorectal, esophageal, liver, lung, lymphoma, ovarian, pancreatic, and stomach cancer being introduced today is a welcome development”.

“It is useful for screening and to identify patients that may require definitive diagnostic tests”.

Salako, while urging health practitioners to prioritize the provision of cancer screening services using tools like Oncoseek, said the increasing burden of cancer in the country demands the deployment of all solutions and management possibilities to tackle it.

He added that the federal government is implementing programmes cutting across prevention, treatment and control, including ongoing construction of six cancer centres of excellence across the six geopolitical zones.

He said, “the second phase in the agenda to provide state of the art cancer treatment infrastructure is set to commence under the 2025 budget and I am happy to announce that in this second phase , FMC, Abeokuta has been selected to be a recipient of a cancer center of excellence under the 2025 budget”.

“We also now have an agency of the FG solely dedicated to cancer research: the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment”.

“It is also important to note that one critical management modality that we have not properly explored in the delivery of healthcare services in our country is nuclear medicine. Despite the rich resources of human capital in the country in the area of nuclear medicine, and our partnership with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Nigeria is not taking full advantage of what nuclear medicine has to offer in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases including cancers”.

“As we know, a key challenge of cancer care in our country is late detection and presentation. A lot of cancers often present with signs and symptoms that mimicks other diseases and may miss being detected”.

Earlier, Dr. Kehinde Ololade, Chairman of the National Nuclear Medicine Technical Working Group, highlighted the committee’s mandate to develop guidelines and policies for the application of Nuclear Medicine in Nigeria.

The Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Tomi Coker in her remarks emphasized the importance of exploring nuclear medicine to reduce cancer morbidity and mortality rates, stating that cancer can no longer be ignored.

In a goodwill message, Professor Abidemi Omonisi, President of the Nigeria Cancer Society, appreciated the Federal Ministry of Health’s efforts, particularly the Minister of State for Health, for bringing health workers together to focus on cancer prevention.