This study provides a historical overview of seventy-five years of cancer research in sub–
Saharan Africa, challenging narratives that frame cancer as a new or emerging health concern
in the region. Drawing on a comprehensive review of scientific publications from key African and
international medical journals, complemented by archival research and in-depth subject
matter expertise, this work maps major shifts in research priorities, authorship, and
institutional contexts from 1945 to 2019. In doing so, it outlines the ebbs and flows of cancer
publications and research from the mid-twentieth century surge of activity emerging as a
result of imperial ambitions and scientific interests, to the decline in international visibility
following decolonization, and the later resurgence of African led research rooted in regional
clinical priorities. This paper emphasizes the dual legacy of Africa as both a significant site of global
oncological discovery and a region where structural inequities and colonial hierarchies of
knowledge and value have long constrained cancer care and research capacity. Understanding
this history is essential for informing present initiatives to improve cancer outcomes and build
more equitable research partnerships.
This article is forthcoming in The American Journal of Public Health, 2026.