KEMRI Launches Kisumu Cancer Registry

Kisumu County First Lady Dorothy Nyong'o cuts a tape to officially mark the opening of the Kisumu Cancer Registry today-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

March 5, 2020

KEMRI Launches Kisumu Cancer Registry

THE Kenya Medical Research Institute has launched a cancer registry in Kisumu County.

The head of National Cancer Registry at Kenya Medical Research Institute Anne Korir says through the Cancer Registry and Surveillance is the fundamental method by which information is systematically collected about the occurrence of cancer.

Addressing the gathering during the official launch of the Kisumu Cancer Registry, Korir said this is the third registry that has been launched across the country.

She says the Registry will also help in providing the information about the types of cancers that occur, the extent of the disease at the time of the diagnosis, the kind of treatment received by cancer patient, the outcomes of the treatment and clinical management.

Korir says the Cancer registries collect data on all cancer from multiple sources including hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, hospices, cancer screening programs and vital statistics offices among others.

“Establishment of population-based cancer registries in particular enables us to understand the distribution of cancer in different populations and to study variations over time between places and by population characteristics, geographical mapping to identify clusters of specific cancers and associated risk factors,” Korir says.

She says the move also require multi-institutional collaborations.

Kisumu County First Lady Dorothy Nyong’o said cancer disease is really ravaging the people across the world.

She says as a care giver, she has a person experience about the scourge.

Mrs. Nyong’o urges people to go for an early diagnosis, adding that when the disease is detected at either stage one of two then something can be done effectively or cost effectively.

The Kisumu First Lady says her organization known as the Africa Cancer Foundation has screened a total of 25,000 people across the country for cancer.

The National cancer Registry was established in KEMRI in 2016 with grant from the Kenyan Government and the US-National Cancer Institute.

The Kisumu Cancer Registry {KCR} is a population based cancer registry located at the center for Global Health Research at the KEMRI Research station in Kisian, Kisumu County in Kenya.It was established in the year 2010 and covers the population of Kisumu County estimated to be 1,155,574 according to 2019 Census.

The registry since its inception was supported through a grant from the state University of New York {SUNY} under Prof. Rosemary Rochford in collaboration with KEMRI registry staff.

This re-launch of the Kisumu Cancer Registry has been spearheaded by the National Cancer Registry at KEMRI in collaboration with Kisumu County and the National Cancer Institute of Kenya which is developing a population based cancer Registry to be located at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral hospital.

It is n activity which is being done with a view to availing data for research and cancer control programs to the County Government of Kisumu and the National.

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