Introduction:

Cancer research is critical for cancer control policies; however, the state of cancer research activities in Botswana is largely unknown. The goal of this review was to describe trends and patterns of cancer research outputs in Botswana.

Methods:

PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, African Journals Online, and African Index Medicus databases were systematically searched for peer-reviewed, primary cancer-related research articles published on the Botswana population or by Botswana institutions between January 2009 and June 2021.

Results:

Of the 86 publications included, 39 (45 %) were about cervical cancer, followed by breast cancer (10 %) and Kaposi sarcoma (7 %). The remainder (27 %) were not focused on any specific cancer type. The research activities were skewed towards three main areas of scientific interest: early detection, diagnosis, and prognosis; cancer control, survivorship, and outcomes; and treatment. Botswana was represented by authors in the first (54 %), last (53 %), and any authorship (53 %) positions. The United States of America had the strongest collaborative partnerships with Botswana, followed by the United Kingdom and South Africa. The majority of funding institutions were American (76 %) and the National Institutes of Health was the most mentioned funding organization, accounting for 33 % of all financial acknowledgments. Only 9 % of the funding acknowledgments came from Botswana.

Conclusion and policy summary:

Although cancer research in Botswana is expanding because of substantial foreign assistance, it is also hampered by a lack of local funding, minimal participation by Botswana-affiliated researchers, and research that is not aligned with disease burden. Our study highlights the need to strengthen local research capacity in Botswana

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