Emmanuella Amoako, Desmond Tanko Jumbam, Yaw Bediako
BMJ Global Health 2021;6:e004750. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004750
Cancer in Africa has been described as a runaway train as it now kills more Africans than malaria.1 2 There are an estimated 1 million new cases of cancer on the continent every year and this is expected to double by 2030.3 Cancer in Africa is characterised by high mortality and the disparity between mortality rates in Africa and high-income countries (HIC) is most striking for childhood cancers with mortality rates as high as 80% compared with 20% in HICs like the USA and Canada.4 Despite the stark disparity in burden (85% of childhood cancers occur in low and middle-income countries5) and mortality rates of childhood cancers in Africa, access to clinical trials, which are vital for the development of effective and safe therapeutics and treatment, remains unacceptably low for African children.