In his doctoral dissertation, Agbonvihele Gregrey Oko-Oboh examines cancer burden and control in the South-South region of Nigeria. He assessed the quality of cancer registration, patterns of early detection, and the impact of key modifiable risk factors. Drawing on ten years of data from the Edo-Benin cancer registry, covering 4.7 million people, the results show that most cancers were pathology-confirmed, indicating accurate diagnosis but possible under-detection of cancers identified by other methods. Address to population matching revealed under-reporting, and population estimation challenges limited reliable incidence estimates. Opportunistic health check-ups identified many cancers but did not result in earlier-stage treatment. A substantial proportion of cancers were attributable to high-risk HPV infection and alcohol use. The findings support stronger cancer registration systems, more effective early detection strategies, and targeted prevention policies.
Doctoral defense of Gregrey Oko-Oboh on March 20th, 2026
The doctoral dissertation of MSc (Epidemiology and Biostatistics) Agbonvihele Gregrey Oko-Oboh in the field of Epidemiology titled Cancer burden and Control in South-South region of Nigeria will be publicly examined at the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University on 20 March 2026.
The Opponent will be Dr. Valerie McCormack from the Internation Agency for Research on Cancer, France. The Custos will be Professor Janne Pitkäniemi from the Faculty of Social Sciences, Tampere University.