Digital oncology frameworks in Africa: a scoping review of architectural patterns, digital maturity, and data equity implications
Abstract
Background: Cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios in Africa remain significantly higher than in high-income settings, driven by late diagnosis, limited specialist capacity, limited access to information and fragmented surveillance systems. Digital oncology frameworks are increasingly recognised as critical enablers of cancer control and management; however, their architectural characteristics have not been systematically synthesised to inform scalable platform development and deployment. This paper systematically maps digital oncology frameworks across Africa, characterises their dominant architectural patterns, digital maturity and AI integration levels, and derives evidence-informed design recommendations for future platforms with explicit attention to how architectural choices shape health data equity across diverse African health system contexts.
Methods: A scoping review was conducted following Arksey and O'Malley and Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, with PRISMA-ScR reporting. Searches were performed across PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, and African Journals Online. Frameworks were classified into six categories: population-based cancer registries; hospital-based oncology information systems; tele-oncology platforms; mHealth frameworks; cancer information hubs; and genomic/precision oncology systems. Data extracted included architecture type, data flow, interoperability, digital maturity, and AI integration.
Results and discussion: Fifty-three…
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