CaPTC Sites

Sites in Nigeria – Region 1

Covenant University

Principal Investigator: Dr. Solomon Rotimi

Covenant University, established in 2002, is a private Christian university located in Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria. The university is rooted in a Pentecostal Christian mission ethos. Since its establishment, the University has quickly risen to prominence, not only as a leading institution in Nigeria but also on the African continent.

Covenant University’s commitment to research and innovation is evident in its numerous accolades and rankings. In 2019, it became the first Nigerian university to be ranked in the top 401-500 category of world universities by Times Higher Education. The university has consistently been ranked as the best private university in Nigeria by various organizations and has been recognized for the employability of its graduates.

One of the university’s notable accomplishments in research is the Covenant Applied Informatics and Communication Africa Centre of Excellence (CApIC-ACE), funded by the World Bank. This center focuses on research in areas such as malaria treatment, cancer diagnosis and treatment, and genomic research, highlighting the university’s commitment to addressing pressing global health challenges.

Covenant University’s success is a testament to its dedication to providing a comprehensive research-driven education that equips students to make significant contributions to society.

Lagos University Teaching Hospital

Principal Investigator: Professor Anthonia Sowunmi

Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) is a tertiary hospital established in 1961 and is located in Idi-Araba, Surulere, Lagos State, the administrative division of Nigeria. The teaching hospital affiliated with the University of Lagos College of Medicine established in 1962. The University of Lagos College of Medicine educates students and LUTH provides them with experience through placement and work experience.

LUTH is the largest teaching hospital in Nigeria with 761 beds. It serves about 25 million people in Lagos State. The teaching hospital trains students in the College of Medicine at the University of Lagos in the Medical, Dental, Pharmacology and other departments.

There are four locations of LUTH located through Lagos State. The main campus is located in Idi-Arabia, with the supplementary and specialist clinics located elsewhere. The locations of LUTH are as follows.

LUTH Main Campus, Idi-Araba

LUTH Dermatology Clinic, Yaba

LUTH PHC, Pakoto, Ogun

LUTH Psychiatry Clinic, Yaba

Departments

LUTH has eight major departments. Within these departments, there are sub-departmentsand specialistunits. The main departments are:

Dentistry

Internal medicine

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

Laboratory medicine

Paediatrics

Oncology

Surgery

Allied Services

NSIA-LUTH Cancer Treatment Centre

In 2015 the Cancer Treatment Centre located in the Oncology and Radiotherapy department underwent renovations to improve the facility. According to the US Trade and Development Agency (USDTA), there are 115,000 new cancer patients known to medical services requiring treatment in Nigeria every year. Cancer Aware Nigeria oversaw the project to improve LUTH’s equipment and reopened the facility in December 2015. The project was in partnership with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA). It cost approximately US$11 million. The refurbishment of the treatment centre was designed to improve the unit centred on renovating patient care rooms, waiting areas and the overall appearance of the clinic. This was done to increase the number of patients using the clinic, as well as their experience. The project had six major aims. These were to provide internal and external radiotherapy services”, service over 3000 patients, provide the facilities to train extra staff, improve the waiting time to receive treatment, help to fund the development of LUTH and finally reduce the number of patients having to travel overseas to find medical attention.

President Muhammad Buhari, who commissioned the refurbishment of the Cancer Treatment Centre commented on 9 February 2019; “Today’s commissioning, is in part, the fulfilment of our commitment to Nigerians for quality, affordable and accessible healthcare”.CEO of NSIA also remarked that the Cancer Treatment Centre would service LUTH by improving “economic potential of healthcare investments in Nigeria” and it would “increase private sector participation.”

USTDA was also involved in the process of improving the Cancer treatment Centre. USDTA purchased Varian cancer treatment and detection software such as the Halcyon. This software was designed to “improve patient capacity and treatment precision.” The software also was designed to reduce the use of water and electricity by half through its precision. The treatment centre also was re-equipped with new technology. These included three Linear Accelerators, brachytherapy machine and treatment planning systems.

The treatments that are available at the Cancer Treatment Centre are:

Radiotherapy: External beam radiation therapy and Internal beam radiation therapy

Chemotherapy

Pharmacy treatments.

On 27 December 2018, representatives of The Guardian visited the Cancer Treatment Centre and were advised that equipment such as linear accelerators, brachytherapy machines, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI Scanners) and CT scans were due to be installed in the centre.

Cancer care in LUTH

The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Cancer Registry was established as Hospital Based Cancer Registry in year 1998. The registry is located within the Radiotherapy Department of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos. The registry actively collects cancer cases from various departments in the hospital. The LUTH Cancer Registry had a total 3,994 cases of cancer in the 8-year period from 2009 to 2016. A total of 2,997 (75.0%) were reported in females and 997 (25.0%) in males. The average number of cases observed per year during the 8-year period was 499. The commonest cancer in females was breast cancer (57.0%; 1,690 cases) followed by cancer of the cervix (19.7%; 583 cases). Together, these two cancers account for 76.7% of all cancers occurring in females. The commonest cancer in males was prostate cancer (27.2%; 260 cases) followed by colorectal cancer (6.6%; 125 cases). Together, these two cancers account for 33.8% of all cancers occurring in males in LUTH Cancer Registry.

Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

Principal Investigator: Dr. Omolara Fatiregun

The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital Ikeja emerged from a modest cottage hospital which was established on the 25th of June, 1955 by the old Western Regional Government to provide health care services for the people of Ikeja and its environment. The cottage hospital later metamorphosed into a full-fledged general hospital which served as a secondary level healthcare facility.

The need for a tertiary health care facility for the training of doctors and other allied health care professionals to provide high quality clinical services led to its upgrade from a general hospital to a modern, well equipped centre of excellence armed with the state-of-the-art facilities. The Lagos State Government formally converted the Ikeja General Hospital to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in July 2001.

Despite LASUTH’s relatively young age as a teaching hospital, evidence abounds that it is one of the foremost teaching hospitals in West Africa in terms of the high quality services rendered by highly skilled professionals using state-of-the-art equipment.

The driving objective of LASUTH is to become a world class teaching hospital, using cutting edge technology and highly developed human resources to render excellent medical care/services to the good people of Lagos State and beyond and by implication, mitigate the number of patients seeking medical tourism abroad.

The mission statement of the establishment is “to provide high quality healthcare services in a friendly environment where patients’ satisfaction is the ultimate. Guided by the needs of our patients and their families, we aim to deliver the very best health care in a safe and compassionate environment; to advance care through innovative research and education; and to improve the health and well-being of the diverse communities we serve.”

Cancer care in LASUTH

The Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Cancer Registry was established as Hospital Based Cancer Registry in year 2009. The registry is located within the Oncology Department of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Lagos. The registry actively collects cancer cases from various departments in the hospital. The LASUTH Cancer Registry had a total 3,846 cases of cancer in the 8-year period from 2009 to 2016. A total of 2,868 (74.6%) were reported in females and 978 (25.4%) in males. The average number of cases observed per year during the 8-year period was 481. The commonest cancer in males was prostate cancer (20.6%; 192 cases) followed by colorectal cancer (13.9%; 130 cases). Together, these two cancers account for 34.5% of all cancers occurring in males in LASUTH Cancer Registry. The commonest cancer in females was breast cancer (53.2%; 1,499 cases) followed by cancer of the corpus uteri (6.6%; 185 cases). Together, these two cancers account for 59.8% of all cancers occurring in females.

Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta

Principal Investigator: Dr. Catherine Oladoyinbo

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State (FUNAAB) was established on January 1, 1988 by the Federal Government when four Universities of Technology, earlier merged in 1984, were demerged. This led to the creation of the first two Universities of Agriculture in Abeokuta and Makurdi.

On the same date, Professor Nurudeen Olorun-Nimbe Adedipe was appointed the pioneer Vice-Chancellor of the University. Professor Adedipe officially assumed duty on January 28, 1988. For many years the date which Professor Adedipe assumed duty was wrongly adopted as the foundation day of the University. Following a revisit to the instrument setting up the University, a Council decision at its 53rd Statutory meeting in June 2010 reverted the foundation date to January 1st 1988 as prescribed by the law which established the University.

Prior to the emergence of UNAAB, the Federal Government had established the Federal University of Technology, Abeokuta (FUTAB) in 1983. Then, in 1984, it was merged with the University of Lagos and had its name changed to the College of Science and Technology, Abeokuta (COSTAB), before the demerger of January, 1988.

The University started off from the old Campus of Abeokuta Grammar School, Isale-Igbein near the city centre. It completed its movement to its Permanent Site along Alabata Road in 1997, in what has been termed the fastest pace of Permanent Site development in the history of Nigerian University System.

At the initial stage, five Colleges were introduced in the University in October 1988 as follows:

* College of Agricultural Management, Rural Development and Studies (COLAMRUD)
* College of Animal Science and Livestock Production (COLANIM)
* College of Environmental Resources Management (COLERM)
* College of Natural Sciences (COLNAS)
* College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT)

Two additional Colleges, College of Engineering (COLENG) and College of Veterinary Medicine (COLVET) were introduced in March, 2002. During 2008/2009 session, the College of Agricultural Management, Rural Development and Consumer Studies was split into two with two new Colleges emerging as follows:

* College of Food Science and Human Ecology (COLFHEC)
* College of Agricultural Management and Rural Development (COLAMRUD)

One additional College, College of Management Sciences was also introduced. College of Natural Sciences (COLNAS) was split into two with two new Colleges emerging as follows:

* College of Biological Sciences (COLBIOS)
* College of Physical Sciences (COLPHYS)

FUNAAB is involved in cancer research as the Department of Environmental Management and Toxicology, College of Environmental Resources Management won a research grant of £300,000 from Royal Society, United Kingdom to investigate and prevent causative effect of charcoal-induced lung cancer in Nigeria, especially in Southwest https://businessday.ng/health/article/funaab-wins-300000-grant-from-uk-to-investigate-charcoal-induced-cancer-in-nigeria/

Perhaps, the institution’s greatest link to prostate cancer research is Dr. Catherine Oladoyinbo who won a seed grant in 2015 on the Validation of an Environmental Behavioural Risk Survey Instrument for Studies of Prostate Cancer in Western Nigeria from the Prostate Cancer Transatlantic Consortium (CaPTC). She has been actively involved in CaPTC research works and has initiated a study known as The Familial Cohort study in collaboration with other CaPTC Principal Investigators.

University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

Principal Investigator: Dr. Iya Bassey

The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital came into existence in 1979 following the need for a Tertiary Health Institution that will render Clinical Services at a level that meets the requirements for the training of medical students of the College of Medical Sciences of the University of Calabar, resident Doctors for the different Post Graduates as well as other healthcare providers in different specialties of Medicine and it’s Allied Professions.

The Hospital took over the facilities of the then St. Margaret’s Hospital, Calabar, which was the first Public Hospital in Nigeria, established in 1897. The facilities of the Maternity Annex of St. Margaret’s Hospital were also taken over by the Hospital.

The University of Calabar Teaching Hospital is built on the outstanding reputation of the founding fathers of St. Margaret’s Hospital, who came in from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. It is worthy of note that the filarial infection (Loa-loa) was first described as “Calabar Swelling” in the then St. Margaret’s Hospital.

With the rising incidence and resurgence of emerging and re-emerging infections such as HIV/Aids, Tuberculosis, Malaria, Filariasis, the viral Haemorragic fevers etc, the Hospital established the Institute of Tropical Disease Research, Prevention and Control. The focus of the Institute is research and evidence – based medicine, in collaboration with The Houston School of Public Health Texas USA, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Cochrane Nigeria. The hospital also houses the Cochrane Nigeria, a part of the Cochrane Collaboration.

In 2001, the Hospital commenced its first movement to the permanent site situated at Unical Hotel Road off IBB Way, Calabar. That movement was completed in 2012

The Hospital also operates a Comprehensive Health Centre at Okoyong located at Ikot Effiong Otop, Odukpani Local Government area, about 45 Kilometers from Calabar. This Health Centre provides Primary and secondary Health Care services to the people of Odukpani Local Government Area and neighbouring States.

CLINICAL SERVICE DELIVERY

Clinical services are available in all specialized Medical areas such as Surgery, Internal Medicine, Paediatrics, Otorhinolaryngology, Anaesthesiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Chemical Pathology, Family Medicine, Orthopaedics/Traumatology, Dental and Maxillofacial Surgery, Ophthalmology, Haematology, Accident and Emergency, Psychiatry, Medical Social Works and Medical Health Records etc. Over the years, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital has been in the vanguard of training and providing the much needed clinical, health and human resources to our community and nation. Several factors have worked together to create and sustain the present atmosphere of contentment, dedication to duty and grim determination on the part of the staff to carry out their services to humanity in the spirit of the founding fathers.

The hospital operates 24 hours service and runs out-patient clinics five (5) times a week (Mondays – Fridays). Emergency services are available round the clock 24hrs a day, seven days a week. Ward rounds are conducted by different Consultants and their various teams. Twenty four hours pharmacy services,twenty four hours laboratory services, specialized investigations, Counselling and Testing for HIV/AIDS and emerging diseases and other clinical services available in the hospital.

TRAINING & TEACHING

The hospital offers training programmes such as training of Nurses, Postgraduate Residency Training of Medical Doctors, Medical Laboratory Scientists, Training of Medical students, Training of Health Information Management Personnel, Post basic ORL Nursing and training in other areas of Medicine and the Allied Sciences.

RESEARCH

The hospital over the years has been involved in various research endeavours with collaboration/partnership with the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, other in-country health research institutions and international organizations. We remain committed to furthering the Frontiers of innovative Research and linkages, especially in Tropical diseases and Infections.

Cancer Registry in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital

The Calabar Cancer Registry started as a hospital-based registry in 1979 then became population-based in 2004. It is located in the Department of Pathology, University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), Calabar, Cross River state, Nigeria.

The registry received its first equipment from the national headquarters of cancer registries in Nigeria coordinated by professor T.F.Solanke in June 1994. This was followed by a grant from WHO/IARC for 2004-2006. In 2009, a set of computer and accessories was donated by the Federal Ministry of Health, Abuja. Since 2007, the registry has had no regular source of funding.

The registry is led by a consultant pathologist as the director, and staffed by a principal administrative officer as the acting registrar, a senior clerical officer as the data collector and data-entry clerk, a medical social worker in charge of patients’ counselling. There is also an oncology nurse who counsels patients on the detection of early warning signals of cancer and assists during the collection of cervical smear and breast biopsy in the cytology clinic.

Registration is predominantly active, involving visits to all the health institutions within the area of coverage. The registration area includes the following Local Government Areas(LGAS): Akamkpa, Akpabuyo, Biase, Calabar Municipality, Calabar South and Odukpani. Population-coverage is considered to be relatively complete for two of these: Calabar South & Calabar Municipality, with a population (2006 national population census) of 375,196. Based on a projected population of 501,400 in 2016, an estimate for 2016/7 was prepared assuming a constant growth of 2.9% within each age-sex group. The population is composed of three major ethnic groups, the Efik, the Ejagham and the Bekwarra.

Regular visits are made to the hospital wards, health records department and laboratory departments including the haematology day care clinic at the UCTH. For logistic reasons, data collection is limited to the health facilities (such as government tertiary, secondary and primary health centres, private hospitals, clinics and laboratories) located in only three local government areas: Akpabuyo, Calabar Municipality and Calabar South.

The information on the patient and the tumour is abstracted from the patients’ health records, laboratory reports, in-patients’ and clinic attendance records. Date last seen or of death is also obtained. When applicable, autopsy records are also examined for available data on cancer-related deaths. Presently, there is no mandatory death registration in Nigeria; only death certificates issued in hospitals are used for updating the vital status of the cancer cases.

To ensure quality control, as far as possible, histological confirmation is obtained in cases registered. All entries are cross-checked validated and updated regularly by the director. The cancers are coded according to ICD-O. New cancer cases registered are stored and managed with Canreg4, and Canreg5 recently. Access to the computerised data is restricted essentially to a few persons. The patients’ data on a paper form is kept securely in locked cabinets. Strict confidential practice is maintained throughout the data handling processes and the cancer registry office and documents are out of bounds to non-registry staff. No information is divulged from the registry without a written request and due authorisation by the director.

Ace Medicare Clinic

Principal Investigator: Dr. Oluwole Kukoyi

Medicare Clinics was officially registered by the Ogun State Ministry of Health as a private hospital on 21st February 1989 at its facility located at 105 Idi-Iroko road, Ota.The vision of the hospital is to make quality health care, including specialised services, easily available and affordable to the generality of the citizenry.

The services rendered at the initial phase included outpatient and inpatient facilities, surgery, maternity services, infant welfare clinic. With the movement of the hospital to its present location at kilometre 4 Idi-Iroko road, more services like x-ray, ultrasound scanning and ECG were added.

TECHNOLOGY

Our state of the art equipment ensure that we deliver the optimum standard of healthcare that we have come to be known for.

Our Computerised Axial Tomography (CT) scanner was commissioned, also by Nigeria’s President Olusegun Obasanjo in May 2006. This was another bold initiative meant to service both the government and private sectors of the health community.

EXPERIENCE

The current full-time staff strength is 160, incorporating Medical Director, Resident and Visiting Consultants, Matron, Dentist, Medical Officers, Nursing Sisters, Midwives and Nurses, Dietitian, Accountant, Public Relations Officer, Human Resources Officer, Information Technology Officer, Radiographers, Dialysis technicians, Nephrology Nurse, and other administrative and support staff.

Federal Medical Centre, Abeokuta

Principal Investigator: Dr. Chidiebere Ogo

The Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta is more than a 750-bedded regional specialist hospital which came into existence on 21st April, 1993 with a philosophy of excellence in the provision of medical services to the gateway state of Ogun and other neighbouring states and nations. However, over the recent years, the scope of this philosophy has gradually expanded to further encompass excellence in training and research, so that today we can rightly say that the hospital stands on a tripod of excellence in research, training and health care service delivery.

With very limited infrastructure and trained personnel inherited from the then State Hospital, Idi- Aba in its humble beginnings, the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta has witnessed a phenomenal transformation in infrastructure and human resource development over the last two decades such that today the hospital has over 50 specialists in various fields of Medicine. The hospital has recorded feats such as separation of Siamese twins, performing the very first trans-oesophageal echocardiography in Nigeria and playing leading roles in a number of local and international collaborative research programmes.

Vision

The vision of the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta is to provide quality and timely clinical and other supportive services to patients within its jurisdiction in a milieu of qualitative research and training activities, and becomes the first choice of seeking qualitative health care services in Ogun State and environs.

Our Mission Statement

By adopting a multi-disciplinary approach, the Federal Medical Centre Abeokuta shall provide prompt, excellent and cost-effective tertiary health care services to all her clients, build health care capacity for the sub-region and engage in research activities that significantly improve the health of Nigerians and contribute to the global fund of medical knowledge.

Core Values

PATIENT FIRST,

WELFARISM

INTEGRITY

DILIGENCE

MUTUAL RESPECT

SACRIFICE

TEAM WORK.

Region 2

University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH)

Principal Investigator: Professor Ademola Popoola

UITH belongs to the second (2nd) generation of Teaching Hospitals in the country.

The University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital came into existence on 2nd of May 1980 but began
operations in July 1980. Upon inception, it used its temporary site, the Ilorin General and
Maternity hospitals, which were owned by the Kwara State Government. The Maternity Hospital
Wing was built in 1937 while the General Wing was built in 1955. The formal release of the two
hospitals to the Management Board of the Teaching Hospital was done on 1st September 1981 when
a lease agreement was signed between the Federal Ministry of Health and the Kwara State
Government.
The contract for the construction of the 13 phased Permanent Site of the hospital was awarded by
the Federal Government in 1981. The contract commenced on the 13th of April, 1981 but the
project was abandoned upon attaining 33% completion on the 20th of December, 1985. In August
2000, construction work resumed at the Permanent Site and Building One (1) was constructed then.
This Hospital is privileged to be one of the 8 Teaching Hospitals in the country to have benefitted
from $8 million VAMED Engineering Co. Ltd. Medical Equipment supply which was a key health
project of the Obasanjo Administration. To this end, building six (6) comprising the Radiology
Department and the main Theatre became the next priority. This is because the VAMED project
required that physical infrastructures should be put in place before the installation of various
equipment. The Federal Government also approved contracts for the pre-installation works to be
carried out at the Permanent Site of the Hospital. This involved the completion of the space required
and the provision of mechanical and electrical services for Building six built to house Radiology
complex, 8 operating theatres and an ICU. Through the VAMED Project, UITH became a recipient of
state-of- the-art Radio-diagnostic, Surgical, Medical and laboratory equipment.
The University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital remained in the old sites till early 2009 when gradual
relocation to the Permanent Site commenced. Full movement to the Permanent site from the
General Hospital Wing was completed in mid-2010. However, the training Schools of the Hospital are
presently occupying the Maternity wing.

HEBRON INTERNATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC AND MOLECULAR PATHOLOGY CENTER

Principal Investigator: Professor Kayode Adeniji

A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE HEBRON SITE

The Hebron International Diagnostic and Molecular Pathology Center, Eiyenkorin, Ilorin, Nigeria was set up as the Coordinating site for various activities of the Pathology Group in CaPTC. The CaPTC Pathology Group comprises all certified pathologists in West Africa who are registered with CaPTC.

Because of its semi-urban location on the outskirts and closeness and accessibility to the grassroots, a community engagement program was organised at the site during the 2018 Science of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities (SGCaPD) conference that was held in Ilorin, Nigeria.

As the Coordinating site of the activities of the CaPTC Pathology Group, we have organised workshops and seminars such as:

2017 Workshop on Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH). We developed a reporting format that many CaPTC sites have adopted to enable us to have a uniform approach to reporting prostate cancer.
During the 2018 Science of Global Prostate Cancer Disparities (SGCaPD) conference in Ilorin, Nigeria, we organised a workshop titled – “From SOP to Best Practices”
In 2019, working with Dr Clayton Yates, we got a travel grant with which five (5) CaPTC investigators and three (3) AC3 investigators travelled to the United States for training in biobanking, immunohistochemistry and manual tissue microarray (TMA)
In 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, we could not have physical meetings but organized online training on manual tissue microarray (TMA) for CaPTC pathologists who did not travel to the US.
In 2021, we organised hands-on training in manual TMA at the National Hospital, Abuja. We constructed TMA blocks from FFPE blocks of prostate cancer brought by CaPTC investigators from seven (7) institutions in Nigeria as well as Cameroon and Sierra Leone.
In 2022, I traveled to the Mayo Clinic for exposure/training in Patient-Derived Tumor Xenograft (PDX) model and Digital pathology

The site participated in phase I of the familiar cohort study wherein saliva specimens were collected from participants for various studies.

In July 2023 we

got a -80-degree freezer and fridge and
set up solar panels and inverter that provide 24/7 electricity to power the freezer and fridge.

Ongoing project(s)

Nigerian Patient-Derived Tumor Xenograft (PDX): The site is currently coordinating this project in conjunction with the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. In the pilot project, we have harvested prostate cancer specimens from participants and these have been shipped to Dr. Copland’s laboratory at the Mayo Clinic. The pathology core serves to provide a database of tissue available from study participants.

Biobanking and training in Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) – this is to enhance detailed cataloguing and provide quality annotation of cancer and other specimens in the fridges and freezers.

Virtual repository: Several tertiary health institutions around us in Ilorin – such as Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho; Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho; Federal Medical Center (FMC) Bida; etc are interested in starting a virtual repository. We can then extend to other CaPTC sites based on our experience from the initial 4 or 5 sites. Upgrading and externalization of the Mayo Clinic Biorepository LIS system (R-LIMS) along with funding to utilize the system will allow HIPAA compliant and open access across all institutions involved. Detailed cataloguing of the contents of freezers will be held within this LIS. Digital pathology integration will be initiated. The Mayo Clinic site is already fully digitized and is poised to start developing and equipping machine learning algorithms for pathology. To digitize African sites, the purchase of Grundium scanners, which allow single slide Z-stacking, app interface access is requested.

Machine Learning/Artificial intelligence – Once digitization has commenced, training will be organized for the pathologists to provide quality annotations on the cancer specimens. A fully integrated digital pathology, PACS, remote scanning software has been developed at Mayo Clinic Florida called zPlatform. This application also has fully customizable annotating, data analysis and artificial intelligence capabilities. Since it is developed at the Mayo Clinic and there is a collaborator interface for external sites, the data can be kept within the consortium.

The plan is to digitize our cancer cases and provide valuable annotations for our cohort. We can create algorithms that will accelerate the research of the other cores. New findings can be correlated with morphology and the algorithms can be utilized to search large datasets for similar patients. Furthermore, the data we provide will be enriched with minority patients and can be presented to industry-based AI/ML algorithms that lack this critical data. Our set will seek to reduce bias in forthcoming prostate and other cancer algorithms.

A consortium of pathologists who can digitize their slides, provide quality annotations, and develop their algorithms will boost us to the cutting edge.

National Hospital, Abuja

Principal Investigator: Dr. Jibrin Paul

The National Hospital was established by act 36 of 1999 as a 200 bed National Hospital for women and Children (NHWC) by Abdulsalami Abubakar. It was commissioned on 22 May 1999. Originally National Hospital For Women And Children, the hospital opened on 1 September 1999 and was originally designed to cater to the needs of women and children in Nigeria and the West African sub-region with a view to reducing morbidity and mortality rates and to carry out extensive research into the peculiar causes of women and children-related diseases in Africa. However, in the year 2000, the name was changed to National Hospital with a mandate to cater for all and in 2011, it was transferred from the Presidency to the Federal Ministry of Health for supervision. The hospital expanded to 400 beds and now renders specialist services in all areas of medicine.

VISION STATEMENT

The National Hospital Abuja is to serve as an apex Referral Hospital of Medical Care in the West African sub-region for the specialized care of patients; curative and promotive health, research and the implementation of a holistic medical education programme for sustainable national and regional development”.

MISSION STATEMENT

“We are the flagship of the medical institution in Nigeria and endowed with Sophistication in men and materials.

Our corporate objective is to provide a friendly atmosphere for the care of all discerning patients without discrimination.

We serve with empathy for the sick and devotion to duty.

Our Services are prompt, courteous, comprehensive, efficient and effective

Our strength lies in the use of state-of-the-art technology in a clean, conducive and patient friendly environment, using highly skilled and motivated staff.”

CORE VALUES

Integrity

Diligence

Empathy

Excellence

Loyalty

QUALITY ASSURANCE POLICY

The National Hospital, Abuja maintains Quality Management Systems and in terms of clinical Governance, structure process and patients’ outcome complies with the requirements of the National Health Act, 2014, or as may be amended, to ensure excellent medical care.