Dr. Thandi Nkosi-Dlamini

Dr. Thandi Nkosi-Dlamini is one of South Africa's most distinguished clinical oncologists, based at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre (WDGMC) in Johannesburg — a state-of-the-art private academic hospital affiliated with the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) Faculty of Health Sciences. WDGMC is the academic medical centre of the Wits Faculty and a leading site for oncology training, research, and tertiary clinical care in Southern Africa. Over a 22-year career, Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini has built a nationally and continentally recognised practice in breast, gynaecological, and lung oncology, combining high-volume clinical care with active participation in clinical research. She is the rare oncologist who bridges ESMO-level specialist expertise with deep engagement in the African cancer research community through AORTIC, making her a sought-after voice on oncology practice adaptation for the sub-Saharan African context. She trained at Wits, which has been her professional home throughout her career, and undertook a fellowship in breast oncology at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels — one of Europe's premier dedicated cancer centres. She is trilingual in English, Zulu, and Sotho, which is significant in a patient population drawn from across Gauteng's multilingual communities. She is a principal investigator on multiple active clinical trials and is recognised internationally as a contributor to breast cancer research in Africa.

Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini completed her MBBCh at the University of the Witwatersrand. She trained as a clinical oncologist at Wits, completing her MMed in Clinical Oncology and attaining Fellowship of the College of Clinical Oncology of South Africa (FC(Rad)Onc(SA)) — the highest specialist credentialling standard for clinical oncology in South Africa. She subsequently undertook a fellowship in breast oncology at the Institut Jules Bordet in Brussels, Belgium, one of Europe's oldest and most respected dedicated cancer centres, where she gained exposure to European-standard multidisciplinary breast cancer care and clinical trial methodology. She has attended ESMO annual congresses, AORTIC biennial conferences, and ASCO annual meetings as an active participant, presenter, and scientific committee member.

Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini's primary clinical focus is breast oncology, including neoadjuvant and adjuvant chemotherapy, hormone receptor-positive disease management with CDK4/6 inhibitors and endocrine therapy, HER2-positive disease with anti-HER2 targeted therapy (trastuzumab, pertuzumab, T-DM1), and triple-negative breast cancer with immunotherapy and PARP inhibitors. She manages metastatic breast cancer with a comprehensive treatment algorithm approach informed by the latest randomised trial evidence. Her gynaecological oncology practice covers cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers managed with platinum-based chemotherapy, bevacizumab, PARP inhibitors, and immune checkpoint inhibitors. Her lung oncology work includes NSCLC management with targeted therapy (EGFR, ALK, ROS1, KRAS inhibitors) and immunotherapy. She participates in WDGMC's multidisciplinary tumour board, which meets weekly for breast, gynaecological, and lung cancer case review.

Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini has published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and the South African Medical Journal. She is a principal investigator on clinical trials examining CDK4/6 inhibitor access models in low and middle-income countries and on immunotherapy response biomarkers in African patients with triple-negative breast cancer. She has contributed to AORTIC's African Cancer Registry Initiative and has been lead author on a landmark paper examining breast cancer subtypes and outcomes in South African women across racial and socioeconomic groups — a study that demonstrated significant disparities in access to trastuzumab in the public versus private sector. She is a member of the ESMO Global Policy Committee and contributes to ESMO's Africa programme on oncology capacity building.

Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre is a major destination for medical tourism within Southern Africa, and Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini consults patients from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, and beyond who travel to Johannesburg for oncology specialist care unavailable in their home countries. She offers comprehensive second-opinion consultations for patients who have received cancer diagnoses elsewhere in Africa or overseas and wish an expert review of their pathology, staging, and treatment plan. Her international patient consultation service includes review of pathology reports, molecular testing interpretation (including IHC, FISH, and next-generation sequencing results), staging imaging review, and written treatment plan recommendations. Appointments for international patients can be arranged through WDGMC's international patient services unit.

Dr. Nkosi-Dlamini has been awarded the South African Oncology Consortium's clinical excellence award and AORTIC's distinguished researcher award for her contributions to African cancer research. She has been recognised by ESMO as a Global Faculty member and selected to present at ESMO annual congresses on multiple occasions. The University of the Witwatersrand has awarded her an academic distinction for her contribution to oncology research and postgraduate teaching. She has been named by the Mail and Guardian as one of South Africa's 200 Young South Africans in the health professions category. She is frequently invited as a keynote speaker at pan-African oncology meetings.