NPMCN creates new faculty to strengthen cancer care
By Henry Nnaemeka
The National Postgraduate Medical College of Nigeria (NPMCN) has established a new Faculty of Radiation and Clinical Oncology to deepen specialist training, research and treatment of cancer in the country.
President of the College, Prof. Nnaemeka Ikefuna, disclosed this on Wednesday at a press conference ahead of the College’s 2026 convocation, explaining that the new faculty would train specialists in the use of ionising radiation and medications to eliminate cancer cells while sparing healthy tissues.
Ikefuna said the initiative was part of the College’s effort to align postgraduate medical training with Nigeria’s evolving health challenges and global developments in cancer management.
He said specialists trained under the new faculty would not only provide radiation-based treatment and administer cancer medications but would also undertake in-depth research into emerging approaches to cancer care.
According to him, the College is particularly interested in studying how global advances such as immunotherapy can be adapted to improve cancer treatment and outcomes in Nigeria.
“We want them not only to study; they are going to go in-depth research on some of the things we can do, using the things we see globally, immunotherapy and the rest of them, to see how we can use it to improve cancer care in this country,” he said.
Ikefuna, however, cautioned against interpreting increased public awareness of cancer as evidence that the disease itself is necessarily increasing in Nigeria.
“I don’t think cancer is on the increase. If you tell me the awareness is on the increase, I will agree,” he said.
He attributed the growing public consciousness partly to increased awareness of diet, environmental factors and other issues associated with health and cancer risk.
The College President said the new faculty would help strengthen Nigeria’s capacity to respond to cancer by producing specialists with deeper expertise in modern cancer management and research.
He noted that the move was in line with global medical practice, adding that Nigeria already has experts working in advanced areas of cancer treatment.
Ikefuna said the creation of the new faculty demonstrates the College’s commitment to developing specialists based on the country’s specific epidemiological and healthcare needs.
The Faculty of Radiation and Clinical Oncology is the newest of the College’s 17 faculties.
The College’s 2026 convocation, scheduled for Thursday, September 17, will see 537 Fellows certified as specialists across its established faculties.
