A professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Pharmacology, Vincent Njar has advised the Nigerian Government to fund the treatment and cure of prostate and breast cancers in the country.
The don enjoined the Federal Government to make funds available for research into drugs that will tackle the diseases.
Njar, who lectures at Maryland University, London, said that some environmental factors are responsible for the prevalence of prostate and breast cancers in African countries.
He spoke while delivering the first 2024 Distinguished Lecture organized by Lead City University, Ibadan.
In the lecture titled, ‘A Journey in Academic Medical Chemistry: Biomolecular Therapeutics Approaches in Prostrate, Pancreatic And Breast Cancers (Medical Chemistry and Drug Discovery: Ingenuity and Serendipity or Is It The Other Way Around?), Njar noted that “research had shown that when people from Asia migrated from their original abode, the level of prostrate and breast cancers increases”.
He maintained that “majority of the drugs available for the treatment of prostrate and breast cancers are meant to treat white patients because the whites always make themselves available for clinical trial whereas blacks normally shun clinical trial”.
Njar explained further that Nigeria, as the giant in Africa, should champion the finance of research that will help in the treatment of prostrate and breast cancers and other life-threatening diseases in Africa.
He added, “The Caribbeans have the highest rate of death and patients of both prostrate and breast cancers with researches showing that this is due to their long time association with slave trade.
“Nigeria, through the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and National Institute of Health (NIH) should make funding available for research into drugs that will be black based for the cure of prostrate and breast cancers respectively.”
