Three-decade quantitative evaluation of cancer-related research in Nigeria from 1990-2019

Abstract

Introduction: There exists a knowledge gap in the quality and quantity of cancer-related research in Nigeria. This review gives a report on cancer research literature indexed in the Web of Science (WoS) in Nigeria from 1990 -2019. Materials and methods: The data used in the present study were published research papers retrieved from the Web of Science. Results: A total of 629 research articles were published within this period across 276 journals. The highest number of articles was published in 2019 (n = 62), while the least was in 1992 (n = 2). However, the last ten years witnessed explosive growth, and it accounted for 63% of the total number of articles. The most relevant authors are Olapade HI (33 articles), Huo D (28 articles), and Ogundiran TO (21 articles). The most relevant sources in the area of cancer research in Nigeria are Nigerian Journal of Clinical Practice (52 articles), East African Medical Journal (23 articles), and African Health Sciences (21 articles). The most relevant author's affiliations are University of Ibadan (n=206), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (n = 115), and Obafemi Awolowo University (n = 105). Conclusion: The results from this study show that Nigerian institutions need to collaborate extensively with foreign institutions and partner with industries in order to improve the quality of their research output.