4th East Africa Oncology Summit

Theme: Rewriting Oncology’s Future Blueprint
16^th May 2026

From Innovation to Access: Reflections from the 4th East Africa Oncology Summit

The 4th East Africa Oncology Summit brought together oncology professionals, researchers, policy voices, partners and regional faculty for a timely conversation on the future of cancer care in East Africa. Convened by the Kenya Society of Haematology and Oncology in partnership with AstraZeneca, the Summit continued to provide a practical regional platform for scientific exchange, health-system reflection and shared learning.

Held under the theme, Rewriting Oncology’s Future Blueprint, the Summit reflected both the urgency and the opportunity before the region. Four years since its inception, it has grown beyond a scientific meeting. It has become a space where clinicians, researchers, partners and patient-centred voices can ask the questions that matter most for cancer care in our setting: how do we diagnose earlier, how do we expand access to diagnostics, how do we translate innovation into routine care, and how do we ensure that precision oncology does not remain available only to a few?

The discussions were grounded in the realities facing cancer care across Kenya and the wider region. Speakers and panellists highlighted late diagnosis, limited access to diagnostics, workforce constraints, fragmented data systems, high treatment costs and unequal availability of specialised services. At the same time, the Summit also reflected the progress being made across East Africa, including stronger multidisciplinary practice, growing research capacity, improving diagnostic pathways, regional training efforts and a more confident oncology community.

A key thread across the day was the need to strengthen data systems. The role of cancer registries, hospital-based reporting, population-based data and digital health platforms was repeatedly emphasised. Without reliable data, it becomes difficult to plan services, allocate resources, attract clinical trials or understand where patients are being lost along the care pathway. The message was clear: cancer control cannot be strengthened without better cancer data.

The Summit also explored the evolving role of diagnostics and precision oncology. Sessions examined biomarker testing, tissue adequacy, liquid biopsy, germline and somatic testing, and the practical barriers to bringing molecular diagnostics into everyday oncology practice. Speakers discussed markers such as EGFR, BRCA and HER2 not as abstract scientific advances, but as tools that increasingly shape treatment choices in breast, lung, ovarian, prostate and hepatobiliary cancers.

Across the disease-specific sessions, the discussions remained clinically relevant and regionally honest. Prostate cancer was addressed as a major cancer affecting men in Kenya, with emphasis on late presentation, biopsy access, molecular testing and the need for structured diagnostic and referral pathways. Breast cancer discussions examined the rapidly changing treatment landscape, including HER2-positive and hormone receptor-positive disease, antibody-drug conjugates, sequencing of therapy, toxicity monitoring and access to newer treatments.

Ovarian cancer discussions brought attention to the importance of BRCA testing, PARP inhibitors, risk stratification and the challenge of identifying women early enough to meaningfully shift outcomes. In lung cancer, speakers addressed the importance of early diagnosis, EGFR testing, treatment sequencing and the need to build capacity beyond major urban centres. The inclusion of hepatobiliary cancers was particularly important, drawing attention to cancers that are often under-discussed, poorly captured in regional data and associated with late presentation and limited treatment options.

The opening panel placed these clinical advances within the wider health-system context. Representatives and experts from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and the broader region reflected on training, research, pathology networks, TB and lung health pathways, patient navigation, clinical trials and regional centres of excellence. A recurring point was that East Africa already has islands of expertise in training, research, diagnostics, registry work and specialised care, but these need to be better connected.

The Summit also reinforced the importance of partnerships that move beyond one-off activities. Sustainable capacity building, regional mentorship, shared training models and collaborative research were presented as essential to advancing cancer care in Africa. As the region continues to develop oncology infrastructure, forums such as the East Africa Oncology Summit provide an important bridge between evidence, practice, policy and access.

The closing message was practical: the value of the Summit will be measured by what changes after the meeting. Participants were encouraged to take the discussions back into clinics, tumour boards, laboratories, research spaces and policy conversations. Whether in prostate cancer pathways, biomarker testing, breast cancer treatment sequencing, biliary tract cancer data or lung cancer diagnosis, the call was to turn knowledge into action.

The 4th East Africa Oncology Summit affirmed that innovation in cancer care is no longer a distant conversation for the region. The challenge now is to make that innovation usable, affordable, equitable and embedded within the systems where patients actually seek care.