October is an auspicious month to raise awareness of Cancer, generally recognised as the Breast Cancer awareness month.
ISN Medical and Illumina, in collaboration with Covenant Applied informatics and Communication- Africa Center of Excellence (CApIC-ACE) of the Covenant University, Ota, hosted a 5- day workshop on Precision Oncology themed “Personalising Cancer Care in Africa through Genomics”. The 5-day workshop was split into 2 parts, a one-day symposium hosted at the CUCRID Building auditorium and attended by seasoned Scientists, Researchers and Medical Specialists and a 4-day Workshop at the Cancer Genomics Research lab of CApIC-ACE.
The One-day Symposium featured presentations on the Concepts, Challenges and Opportunities for Precision Oncology in Africa, presented by Dr. Boutros Maroun of Illumina, the global concepts of cancer genomics, adapting learnings from other parts of the world to the African context presented by Prof. Solomon Rotimi of Covenant University, The epidemiology of breast and prostate cancers, the clinical implications and the importance of genetic diversity and inclusion in precision oncology presented by Dr Paul Jibrin of the National Hospital, Abuja. There were also virtual presentations from Mrs. Yemisi Osakwe of Marcelle Ruth Cancer Center on setting up collaborative approaches in Precision Oncology in Africa, Jean-Claude Gerard shed light on small oncology panels using Pillar Biosciences and Illumina, while Lydia Hadjeras presented on Comprehensive Genomic Profiling and Genotyping.
A highlight of the symposium was a Panel session on Addressing the challenges and opportunities for precision Oncology in Africa. The Panel consisted of Dr Arisegi Sarafadeen Adeniyi, representing the DG of NICRAT, Prof Aminu Zakari Mohammed of Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Dr Sam Otene, The National Chairman of the NMA Cancer Committee, and Dr Paul Jibrin of the National Hospital, Abuja. The Panelists expressed their enthusiasm about the adoption of NGS in Cancer care, albeit still work in progress. They assured the audience on the protection of the African Genome from exploitation with the growing centers in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. The Audience also had the privilege of contributions from key opinion leaders and Policy makers like the MD/CEO of Medserve, NSIA-LUTH, Dr Tolu Adewole.
The remaining 4 days of the workshop featured a practical training workshop on the Illumina NGS platforms focusing on Pillar panels, and bioinformatics analysis: analysing the NGS data to make links to the clinical implications. The Workshop though accessed by a limited number of people was attended by Laboratory representatives from Marcelle Ruth Cancer Center, Lakeshore Cancer Centre, The National Hospital Abuja, Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN), Medserve, Biologix, Everight Diagnostics, Androcare Fertility, and other resident researchers of the CApIC-ACE.
This workshop is evidence of ISN Medical’s continued commitment to provide its partners and customers with the latest innovations in healthcare and facilitate capacity building to ensure both healthcare providers and their patients enjoy peace of mind. ISN Medical is grateful to Illumina for its continued support in enabling this shared vision of personalising cancer care in Africa.