How YABATECH Research Team Plans to Help Improve Prostate Cancer Patients’ Quality of Life
The Yaba College of Technology research team, currently working on the treatment of prostate cancer, having won a grant of N34 million issued by the National Research Fund of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund, explained to Funmi Ogundare in this interview that they are set to hit the ground running to impact humanity and improve quality of life, especially for prostate cancer patients
Prostate cancer is one of the most common types of cancer affecting males, and researchers are looking at newer forms of treatment through concerted efforts to prevent, detect, treat and stem the scourge. Some of the researchers are the Yaba College of Technology team, who recently won a grant award of N34 million from the National Research Fund ( NRF) of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund ( TETfund). The team include experts in Computer Engineering, Medical Biochemistry, Oncology, Pathology, Zoology, Pharmacognosy and Ethnopharmacy, Toxicology, and Pharmacology from Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, University of Lagos, and other co-researchers from the college.
They will have access to biopsy samples from consenting prostate cancer patients in Nigeria, which has one of the highest prostate cancer rates in the world.
The research work titled ‘Artificial Intelligencebase Drip Combination Prediction and Ex vivo Screening against Prostrate Cancer: Biopsy for Individualised Treatment’ will enable them to develop an Artificial Intelligence-based precision Medicine solution for prostate cancer treatment that can potentially improve outcomes significantly for patients in Nigeria and the world.
The Principal Investigator (PI), Mrs. Aishat Oluwatosin Amolegbe of the Department of Biological Science, YABATECH, explained how they were able to achieve the feat, saying that it took a lot of effort and time bringing everybody together to achieve their planned objectives.
“When the idea came, I sat with my boss and we looked at how we can solve the problem on prostate cancer and also thought of those to involve in the research work and fill a gap,” Amolegbe. “That meant we had to bring in people from different institutions and contacted those from the University of Lagos, Akoka, and those in Usman Danfodio University because we had signed a memorandum of understanding with them to achieve our stated objectives.
She added, “We created a WhatsApp group and scheduled meetings after the close of work. This went on for almost three or four months. It wasn’t an easy task at all, but because of the support I got from every member of the team, it made the work easy for me.”
After that aspect, she stated that submission of the work to the National Research Fund (NRF) also became an issue.
“We left the college around 9 P.M because uploading it was a challenge. My boss was always guiding and supporting me on what to do, and sometimes I cried. At the long run, they sent us a mail inviting us for an interview, I had to rush back to Lagos from where I travelled to. I hardly slept. I was told that I would be doing the presentation alone rather than with my team members, and I needed to understand the aspect of artificial intelligence. During the interview stage, I was made to face seven professors to defend how we are going utilise the fund.”
The PI emphasised the importance of having a mindset of learning and putting in extra effort rather than just thinking about the money that goes with it, adding that the process of winning a grant is not a -day job.
“TETFund is coming back to verify what we are using the money for, so it is about putting in more work,” she stated.
Asked how it is expected to impact the health sector, Amolegbe explained that cancer patients are usually treated based on the drugs available and therapy, but generating a treatment drug based on individual genetic makeup first will go a long way.
She also emphasised the importance of artificial intelligence in medicine, saying that no one has done that before and that creating a large database would make the work easier and ensure an effective outcome.
“It will be beneficial to the health sector because cancer is rampant and it’s affecting the male and female folks. With this work, we will be able to treat each patient based on their genetic make-up and data rather than just a general treatment.”
However, she expressed concern about some of the research challenges, including lack of funding, poor infrastructure, and staff’s nonchalant attitude, which could impact the work negatively.