By Sade Oguntola
Copyright tribuneonlineng
PROVOST of the College of Medicine University of Ibadan, Professor Temidayo Ogundiran has stated that the 8,000 cervical cancer deaths occurring annually in Nigeria are overshadowed by the broader impact on lives lost, shattered families, and grieving communities.
He stated that scientists must ensure scientific findings on cervical cancer are integrated into patient care, policies, and practices, rather than being confined to laboratories or journals, to effectively address the diverse needs of health systems in Nigeria and across Africa.
Professor Ogundiran gave the charge at a special guest lecture titled “The Plot Thickens: Novel Insights from Cervical Cancer Genomics,” which was delivered by Dr Akinyemi Ojesina, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, United States.
He stated that cervical cancer remains one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among women worldwide, and according to the World Health Organization, more than 600,000 women are diagnosed each year, resulting in over 340,000 deaths.
Professor Ogundiran stated that it is alarming that nearly 90 per cent of deaths from cervical cancer occur in low- and middle-income countries but behind these statistics are mothers, sisters, daughters, and colleagues—lives cut short, families devastated, and communities left in grief.
The don declared that genomic science is transforming the understanding of cervical cancer by helping to unravel how it begins, progresses, and how it might ultimately be prevented or cured.
According to him: “With every discovery, the plot thickens, bringing new opportunities: opportunities for innovation, earlier detection, more effective treatment, and ultimately, saving lives.
“As a college, our duty is clear. We must ensure that scientific insights do not remain confined to laboratories or journals. Instead, they must be translated into policies, practices, and patient care that addresses the diverse needs of our health systems here in Nigeria and across Africa.”
Dr Ojesina, in his lecture, stated that new insights into cervical cancer suggest that its prevention can be achieved through primary, secondary, and tertiary measures.
According to him, tertiary prevention aims to prevent complications, while secondary prevention seeks to prevent the disease even after exposure to risk factors for cervical cancer.
The expert, however, stated that HPV vaccinations are a powerful tool in preventing cervical cancer, reducing the risk of developing the disease by up to 90 per cent, making them a crucial preventive strategy in protecting future generations and alleviating the burden of cancer on individuals and healthcare systems.
Dr Ojesina, who noted that cancers result from miscommunication and misinformation leading to a breakdown of cellular regulation, stated that genomic sequencing provides evidence that some cervical cancers are: HPV-independent.
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He said, “We essentially demonstrated this across three different cohorts of HPV-independent or HPV-undetected cervical cancers observed in older women. Let us assume that HPV vaccination is successful and completely eliminates all HPV-dependent cervical cancers. Even then, there will still be some cervical cancers that the vaccination will not prevent.
“Evidence across every cohort we have examined indicating that cases not associated with HPV actually has a worse prognosis. The latest WHO classification of female genital tumors now identifies HPV-independent cervical cancer as a distinct subset.”
Earlier, the host and Dean of the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Professor Taiwo Lawal, stated that all efforts to understand the extent of HPV involvement in the human genome are the right approach, as Nigeria strives to protect the future of both men and women.
