{
  "id": 8267384,
  "title": "NCCF Seeks More Accessible Colorectal Cancer Screening in Nigeria",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/nccf-seeks-more-accessible-colorectal-cancer-screening-in-nigeria",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-09-18T07:41:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "This Day",
    "slug": "this-day",
    "url": "https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/09/18/nccf-seeks-more-accessible-colorectal-cancer-screening-in-nigeria/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria faces challenges in screening for colorectal cancer due to limited endoscopy centers, according to health experts. This shortage makes it difficult to solely rely on colonoscopy for screening, necessitating affordable and scalable alternatives at the community and primary healthcare levels. At a Niola Cancer Care Foundation conference marking its 10th anniversary, Professor Olusegun Alatishe warned that the limited endoscopy infrastructure could be overwhelmed with the number of people needing screening. A recent screening exercise involving 2,300 asymptomatic Nigerians aged 45 and above in Lagos, Ogun, and Osun states found 20 percent with positive results. Researchers are exploring a urine-based test for colorectal cancer, which could be deployed at primary healthcare centers. Professor Fatimah Abdulkareem emphasized the importance of a system that moves patients from screening to diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up. Factors contributing to late presentation include failure to recognize symptoms, inappropriate referrals, high costs, and delays in diagnostic results. Dr. Eben Adepitan Aje noted that social, religious, economic, and educational factors influence how Nigerians respond to symptoms. The experts called for stronger primary healthcare services to identify warning signs, conduct basic screening, and make timely referrals. Niola Cancer Care Foundation founder Eniola Akintunde stressed that early detection can save lives, and collective action is needed involving government, healthcare professionals, researchers, civil society, survivors, caregivers, and the media.",
  "summary": "Ayodeji Ake Nigeria’s capacity to screen for colorectal cancer remains limited, with fewer than 200 endoscopy centres available across the country, health experts have said. The experts said the shortage",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}