While roving the abstracts stand at the World Cancer Congress in Geneva (17 ‑ 19 September 2024), Paul Adepoju bumps into Swiss TPH PhD researcher Peace Ayeni and ends up unpacking a jaw‑dropping data set of 4.1 million people living with HIV in South Africa. Her study shows that where you pick up your antiretrovirals—an affluent clinic or an under‑resourced township facility—can tilt the odds of getting a cancer diagnosis.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- How the team probabilistically linked national HIV‑lab records to build the SAM cohort, capturing cancers across the country.
- Why “cell counts and bank accounts”—immune status and socio‑economic position—create a double jeopardy for cervical, breast and other common tumours.
- The hidden epidemic of under‑diagnosis in poorer wards, and what a more decentralised cancer‑screening model could look like.
- A quick nerd‑out on conference poster formats (yes, e‑posters vs. paper still sparks debate!).
Whether you’re a global‑health wonk, an equity advocate or just podcast‑curious, this episode maps the tightrope between biology and inequality with data‑rich clarity—and leaves you asking how many cancers we’re still not counting.
(Recorded on the Congress show floor in Geneva, Switzerland.)
