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A Sierra Leonean woman is on the cusp of something big. Sandra Musujusu, a student at the African University of Science and Technology in Abuja, Nigeria is reported to be developing an alternative treatment for a type of breast cancer that mainly affects women of African ancestry.
The reports say that the development was publicised when the World Bank Education Director, Dr Jaime Saavedra Chanduvi and his team visited the University on a tour of the 10 African Centres of Excellence. Musujusu’s research is under the Pan African Materials Institute (PAMI) which is an African Center of Excellence of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) funded by the Nigerian government through a credit from the World Bank.
A Cure for African Women
Speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, Musujusu said, “My research is actually centered on the development of biodegradable polymers for treatment of breast cancer. I will be focusing on triple negative breast cancer, which is actually the aggressive subtype of breast cancer that is common with women from African ancestry.”
In Africa, breast cancer is responsible for one in four diagnosed cancers and one in five cancer deaths. According to Vanderpuye et al in a review titled An update on the management of breast cancer in Africa, “The breast cancer incidence in Africa continues to increase and is projected to double by 2050.” The review also highlighted that there was a higher incidence of triple negative cancer which Musujusu is on the verge of dealing with.
