By DORCAS ElLUSOGBON

The Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, has launched its first immunotherapy trial for patients with colorectal cancer.

The Principal Investigator, Department of Surgery, Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Prof. Olusegun Alatise, disclosed this while addressing a news conference on Wednesday in Ile-Ife.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that colorectal cancer is a type of cancer that affects the colon or rectum, which are parts of the large intestine.

It often starts as a growth called a polyp, which can become cancerous over time.

Symptoms may include changes in bowel habits, blood in stool, abdominal pain, and weight loss.

It is a growing health concern in Nigeria, with limited treatment options and low survival rates.

Immunotherapy, on the other hand, is a type of cancer treatment that uses the body’s immune system to fight cancer.

It works by stimulating the immune system to recognise and attack cancer cells, rather than attacking the cancer directly.

This approach can be more targeted and have fewer side effects than traditional treatments like chemotherapy.

Alatise, a surgeon, however, said that OAUTHC, in collaboration with other university teaching hospitals in the country, was tackling the challenges facing the treatment of colorectal cancer in Nigeria.

According to him, colorectal cancer is a growing health problem in Nigeria, with less than half of patients surviving beyond one year after diagnosis.

He said that the cancer does not respond to traditional treatment options such as chemotherapy.

The surgeon emphasised that research in other countries had shown that immunotherapy was highly effective in colorectal cancer patients with mismatch-repair deficiency (dMMR).

Alatise said the National Health Research Ethics Committee of Nigeria (NHREC) ensures that all health research conducted in Nigeria is ethical and globally compliant.

He said that patients would be treated at OAUTHC, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and Medserve’s NSIA Diagnostic Centre in Lagos.

Alatise commended the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) for giving its full support to the research.

A Consultant Breast Surgeon at OAUTHC, Dr Funmilola Wuraola, urged women to regularly examine their breasts at home and in hospitals for early detection and prevention of breast cancer. (NAN)