Clinical oncologist Dr Omolola Salako says doctors are increasingly seeing cancers in Nigerians aged 18 to 39 — too young for routine screening — and is urging greater awareness of preventable risk factors.
Clinical Oncologist Dr Omolola Salako has raised concern over a rising number of young Nigerians developing cancer, saying oncologists are increasingly seeing “unpredictable” cancers among people aged between 18 and 39.
Speaking in an interview on ARISE NEWS on Sunday, Salako, who is also Chief Executive Officer of Pearl Oncology Specialist Hospital, said the trend is particularly challenging because many of those affected are below the age at which routine cancer screening is typically recommended.
“There are young people between the ages of 18 and 39 that are developing cancers, and these cancers are unpredictable, too young to recommend cancer screening in the first place,” she said.
Late Presentation Is a Recurring Problem
Salako said young adults with cancer often present late, since cancer is rarely the first possibility that comes to mind at that age. “With the younger adults, they tend to present late because that’s the last thing on a 20-something-year-old’s mind,” she said.
Independent research supports this pattern. A retrospective study at a radiation oncology clinic in Nigeria found that cancer cases among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 39 accounted for 14.1 percent of all new cancer cases seen at the clinic between 2018 and 2023, with breast, bone/soft tissue and cervical cancers the most common among that age group. Nationally, Nigeria records an estimated 127,763 new cancer cases and around 79,542 cancer deaths each year, according to cancer-advocacy data, with late detection and limited access to treatment infrastructure, the country has only around 27 dedicated cancer treatment centres for a population of over 218 million, widely cited as key drivers of poor outcomes.
Tobacco and Prevention
On prevention, Salako identified tobacco use as a significant risk factor, citing the large number of harmful compounds it contains.
“Smoking contains tobacco, and in tobacco there are more than 3,000 chemicals that are known to trigger cancer,” she said, adding that the risk extends to people regularly exposed to secondhand smoke. She said newer products such as e-cigarettes should not be seen as a safe alternative either.
She urged Nigerians to make greater use of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare facilities for preventive services, including vaccination against hepatitis B and human papillomavirus (HPV), noting that an estimated 40 percent of cancers are preventable. “It’s important women and men are presented at the primary healthcare level to get screened, get vaccinated against hepatitis B virus, human papillomavirus,” she said.
Family History and Other Risk Factors
Salako identified a strong family history of cancer as another important risk factor, advising people in that situation to consult specialists and consider genetic testing that can detect cancers at very early, pre-cancerous stages. She also cited chronic kidney disease requiring dialysis or transplant, uncontrolled hypertension, micronutrient deficiency, and heavy chronic alcohol consumption, which she said stresses the liver and induces chronic inflammation, as contributing risk factors.
She additionally noted that prolonged ultraviolet exposure poses a heightened skin cancer risk for fair-skinned individuals and people with albinism, who have lower levels of protective melanin.
Salako said chronic inflammation is a recurring pathway through which many of these risk factors eventually contribute to cancer development. “The problem with cancer is it just takes one arrow in one cell, and it finds a way to hide. That’s how cancer can develop,” she said.
This article discusses a serious health topic. If you or someone you know has concerns about cancer risk or symptoms, consulting a licensed physician or oncologist directly is recommended.
