National Cancer Institute of Kenya

21/08/2026

Cancer changed Mercy’s life—but it did not define her.
Today, as a cancer survivor and childhood cancer advocate at the National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCI-Kenya), under the Cancer Prevention and Control Directorate, Mercy uses her experience to give hope to children and families facing cancer.
Through advocacy, awareness and compassionate support, she helps shine a light on the importance of early detection, timely treatment and never giving up hope.
🎗️ Let us create hope. Let us raise awareness. Let us stand with children facing cancer.

20/08/2026

18/08/2026

We’re at the Kenya Health Summit!

Are you at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC)? Pass by the National Cancer Institute of Kenya (NCI-K) booth and connect with us.

Learn more about our work in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment, research and control, discover what we’re doing to strengthen cancer care in Kenya, and explore our achievements and vision for the future.

Come say hello, ask questions and be part of the conversation towards a Cancer-Free Nation. 🇰🇪

17/08/2026

Making Cancer Treatment More Accessible 🇰🇪

Through a partnership between the Ministry of Health and Roche, the cost of Herceptin (trastuzumab) has been reduced from KSh 120,000 to KSh 40,000.

More importantly, the KSh 40,000 cost is fully covered by the Social Health Authority (SHA) for eligible patients.

This has helped reduce the financial burden of breast cancer treatment. It also means that more patients can access this medicines when they need them.

16/08/2026

Dr. Elias Melly, CEO of the National Cancer Institute of Kenya, will be attending the Kenya Health Summit 2026, taking place on 18–19 August at the Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC).

The Summit is a chance to highlight NCI-K’s achievements and impact in cancer prevention and control, build partnerships, and discuss the future of health in Kenya as we work toward a more resilient, accessible, and equitable health system.

15/08/2026

From August 12th-14th 2026, Hillary Chang, a NCI-K Cancer Registrar, led a three-day Cancer Registration Training at AGC Tenwek Hospital, as part of the ongoing efforts to strengthen cancer prevention and control in Kenya.

The training brought together health records and information teams with other healthcare workers involved in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Participants learned how to identify cancer cases, extract data, document information, and use ICD-O-3 for classification and coding, emphasizing the importance of collecting complete, accurate, and timely cancer data.

AGC Tenwek Hospital is one of Kenya's top-rated health facilities, and improving its capacity as a cancer data center will be crucial in enhancing cancer tracking. Its strategic location and the large population it serves enable Tenwek to gather valuable insights on cancer cases, patterns, and trends, helping deepen our understanding of the cancer burden in Bomet County.

01/08/2026

Today, the National Cancer Institute of Kenya continued with the collaborative efforts towards cancer prevention and control, and the hosts were Manchester University, Manchester Clinical Research Centre, Christie Hospital and Nightangle Breast Clinic Centre and Breast Imaging Academy in Manchester City, United Kingdom.

The discussions centred around partnership towards setting up a Clinical Trials Unit and a Cancer Training Institute that will aid in building capacity as well for routine care and research.

Manchester University Trust Fund and its partners are conducting 250 Clinical Trials at every one point. There shall be exchange of knowledge and shared resources between our institutions.

We had Dr. Rajiv Dave (Oncoplastic Breast Surgeon & Endocrine Surgeon), Dr. Trupti Kulkarni (Consultant Radiologist at Nightangle Breast Centre), Prof. Richard Cowen (Professor of Clinical Oncology at Christie NHS Foundation), Dr. Rachel Chown (Associate Director Christie NHS Foundation Trust) Prof. Sacha Howell (Professor of Medical Oncology and lead researcher in Cancer Prevention Clinical Trials) Mr. Bruce Daniels (Head of Strategic Partnerships & Operations).

We are looking for impactful collaboration that will translate into building capacity for genomic and multi-omic molecular characterization that will guide targeted therapies and better patient outcomes.

In UK, 75% of patients present with stage 1 & 2 due to successful screening programs rolled out by their governments. As a country we are picking a lot of lessons that will inform our initiatives towards stage shifting from Stage 3 and 4 to early stage cancers that are curable.

The team was also joined by our esteemed Kenyan colleagues who are pursuing PhDs and Fellowships at Manchester University: Dr. Bahati Riogi, (Kisii Teaching & Referral Hospital), Dr. Caroline Tonio (KUTRRH) and Dr. Lunayo Accadius (University of Nairobi) They are great ambassadors of our country and our programs.

31/07/2026

As part of the efforts to strengthen Cancer Registry in Kiambu County, this week we conducted a Cancer Registry Training at AIC Kijabe Hospital, successfully onboarding four Health Records and Information Officers (HRIOs) to support facility-based cancer registration.

The training also included a review of cancer cases already captured in NaCaRe-Ke, where we addressed reporting challenges, and agreed on best practices to improve the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of cancer data.

Strengthening facility-based cancer registries is key to building a robust national cancer surveillance system. Every accurately reported cancer case contributes to better evidence for research, policy, planning, and improved cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and patient care.