Ghana team works to boost African representation in cancer research
Aisha Mohammed, 31, a research associate at work in a lab at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)


Though scientific research is an essential part of modern medicine, studies can be limited in terms of their subjects, data sets and samples. That is what a team in Ghana is trying to change as they feel African representation in cancer research is poor.

In the open-air kitchen of a small research clinic in Ghana's capital, Accra, pathologist Kafui Akakpo carefully carved a piece of cancerous breast tissue into a sample smaller than a matchbox.

Hundreds of other samples bobbed around him in plastic jars of formaldehyde, but this one would soon travel across town to Yemaachi Biotech, a Ghanaian research and diagnostics startup that Akakpo thinks could change African cancer studies forever.

Staff lab coats hang on a rack at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Aisha Mohammed, 31, a research associate, aliquots serum into new tubes at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
A biohazard warning sign is displayed at the Yemaachi Biotechnology cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Research associates Aisha Mohammed, 31, and Emmanuel Quaye, 27, prepare samples at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

"Even though breast cancer has been studied extensively throughout the world, the truth is that most samples are not of Africans," he said.

Data on cancer in Africa is scarce. While more than 17% of the world's population, only 2% of genomic study participants worldwide are of African descent, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Yet cancer is a growing problem on the continent, with a recent University of Tunis study projecting African mortalities to exceed the global average by 30% in the next 20 years.

"The majority of medical research (in Africa) is focused on infectious diseases, and yet we have some of the highest cancer mortality rates of anywhere in the world," said Yaw Bediako, CEO and co-founder of Yemaachi, which launched in 2020.

Dr. Kafui Akakpo, a pathologist, observes a breast lump with a tumo r at the Pathologists Without Borders laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Dr. Lawrence Adusei, 64, a pathologist, observes slides through a microscope at the Pathologists Without Borders laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 16, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

As one of Ghana's only labs equipped for molecular analysis, Bediako's team have tasked themselves with collecting data they believe will advance the development of medicine for cancer patients throughout the continent and diaspora.

Eventually, the startup aims to construct a first-of-its-kind genomic archive of cancers in black people from around the world.

Akakpo is currently working on a study of the various kinds of breast cancer affecting black women, whom studies show are disproportionately affected by the disease. Another will aim to sequence every type of childhood cancer in Ghana.

Dr. Kafui Akakpo, a pathologist, observes a breast lump with a tumor at the Pathologists Without Borders laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 16, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Dr. Yaw Bediako, 39, immunologist and CEO, Yemaachi Biotechnology, speaks with scientists at the cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Randy Tackie, 25, a research associate, prepares a mix for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) processing at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)
Vera Kotey, 22, a research associate, inspects a liquid nitrogen tank at Yemaachi Biotechnology, a cancer research laboratory in Accra, Ghana, May 19, 2022. (Reuters Photo)

Yemaachi also recently launched Ghana's first home testing kit for human papillomavirus (HPV), one of the leading causes of cervical cancer. The American Cancer Society estimates more than a third of global cervical cancer deaths occur in Africa.

In just over a year, Yemaachi has raised around $3 million in seed funding, mostly from African investors, plus another $1 million from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to investigate how Africans respond to COVID-19 vaccines.

"The treatment of cancer is not always going to be in the clinic. Most treatments began on a lab table, so if we want to find a cure in Africa for Africans, then we have to start it here," said Emmanuella Amoako, Yemaachi's clinical affairs lead.