Mapping Cancer Research Across North Africa, 1996–2025

Abstract

Cancer research capacity across North Africa has grown, but its output, focus by cancer site, and collaboration patterns have not been characterized across the major countries of the region over the full period of modern indexing. All cancer-related records from Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya indexed in OpenAlex between 1996 and 2025 were retrieved (156,715 unique records) and profiled by publication year, cancer site inferred from the title, international co-authorship, and open-access status. Output rose across all five countries, led by Egypt. Breast cancer was the most studied site region-wide (8,305 records), followed by liver (6,379). Egypt showed a distinctive concentration on liver cancer (21% of its site-tagged records against a regional norm near 7%), consistent with its documented hepatocellular carcinoma burden. Research focus shifted over time toward breast and liver cancer and away from the lymphomas. International collaboration and open-access shares varied systematically by cancer site. North African cancer research has grown and professionalized, with an agenda that concentrates on a small set of sites and, in Egypt, tracks a known epidemiological burden. Research frequency reflects scientific attention rather than disease incidence.