Nigeria is facing what health experts are calling a looming cancer epidemic, with breast cancer cases skyrocketing by 296 percent and related deaths rising by 223 percent over the past three decades.
This alarming trend was brought to the fore at the 2025 Roche Breast Cancer Summit held in Lagos on Wednesday, where medical professionals and stakeholders pointed to soaring treatment costs, poor access to quality healthcare, and widespread misinformation as major contributors to the worsening crisis.
Delivering a sobering presentation, Professor Emmanuel Ezeome, a Professor of Surgical Oncology at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, described breast cancer as a growing public health emergency. Citing data published in the British Medical Journal, he revealed that breast cancer incidence in sub-Saharan Africa has surged by 247 percent in the last 30 years, with Nigeria accounting for a substantial share.
According to him, Nigeria’s age-standardised breast cancer incidence rate rose from 24.9 to 38.2 per 100,000 population, while mortality climbed from 19.3 to 26.9 per 100,000 — a sign that the disease is becoming both more common and more deadly.
“Our mortality-to-incidence ratio is over 51 percent — one of the highest globally,” Ezeome stated. “This is due to late-stage diagnosis, inadequate access to care, and the overwhelming financial burden on patients. More than 90 percent of patients spend over 40 percent of their yearly income on treatment.”
Echoing these concerns, Dr. Ladipo Hameed, General Manager of Roche Nigeria, described the cancer care landscape in the country as riddled with "unmet needs." He emphasized the urgent need for timely diagnosis and personalised treatment, noting that despite advances in medical research and drug development, outcomes for Nigerian cancer patients remain poor.
“We have made real progress in oncology, but without early detection and a clear treatment pathway, lives will continue to be lost unnecessarily,” Dr. Hameed said. “We must do more to support patients through the entire healthcare journey.”
The summit ended with a collective call for improved cancer awareness, better screening programs, and strategic investments in Nigeria’s healthcare infrastructure to stem the tide of rising cancer deaths.
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