KU Hospital to carry out Sh400m throat cancer research
The Kenyatta University Teaching Research and Referral Hospital (KUTRRH) has launched a Sh400m research project for throat cancer patients in the country.
The noble undertaking is being funded by the National Institute for Health and Research, University of Manchester and the Christie Foundation (UK), among others.
According to the hospital, the project will initially be conducted in five counties where there is a prevalence of the disease.
Speaking during the project’s launch, KUTRRH board chair Olive Mugenda said the counties covered by the project include Kiambu, Meru, Nyeri, Nakuru and Kisii.
“Our researchers shall come up with answers whether there are environmental factors causing the disease. We will also be able to establish who among the elder or younger people are more exposed to infection and whether there are other conditions involved,” she said.
She added that researchers will be given an opportunity to determine whether there are environmental factors associated with the infections and the prevalence among age groups.
Mugenda further noted that KUTRRH had installed modern diagnostic equipment that helps cut down the cost of seeking such services abroad.
Oesophageal cancer (commonly known as throat cancer) is the third most common in Kenya and causes an estimated 4,400 deaths yearly.
According to researchers say the disease has a 100 per cent mortality rate.
