Cancer Cases Set to Drop as Sh800m AI Radiotherapy Machine Unveiled at Aga Khan Hospital

By Mwakwaya Raymond

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Kenyan cancer patients can now breathe a sigh of relief after the launch of a faster, precise treatment, and more advanced AI-enabled radiotherapy system at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi.

Aga Khan hospital has since installed the Sh800 million TrueBeam radiotherapy system, a cutting-edge technology designed to deliver highly targeted radiation therapy in less than 10 minutes per session about half the time required for conventional radiotherapy treatments.

Hospital officials say the system offers sub-millimetre precision when targeting tumors, helping protect surrounding healthy tissue while reducing side effects and improving patient outcomes.

The technology can treat a wide range of cancers, including breast, prostate, cervical, head and neck, lung, liver, brain and spinal tumors as well as selected metastatic and pediatric cancers.

Kenya records about 42,000 new cancer cases each year, according to government estimates, with limited access to advanced treatment facilities remaining a major challenge.

“In Kenya, access to quality treatment remains a critical gap,” says science, research and innovation principal secretary Abdulrazak Shaukat.

Professor Shaukat notes that partnerships between the government and private healthcare institutions are key to strengthening precision medicine and early diagnosis while positioning Kenya as a regional hub for advanced healthcare.

Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in Africa. Data from the International Agency for Research on Cancer shows the continent recorded about 1.2 million new cancer cases in 2022, a figure projected to rise to 2.4 million annually by 2045.

Aga Khan hospital chief executive officer Rashid Khalani said the new technology would significantly expand access to specialised cancer treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa.

TrueBeam technology remains rare on the continent with only a few centres in countries such as South Africa, Egypt, Kenya and Nigeria currently offering the advanced radiotherapy platform.