March 2018 – The care of patients with lymphoma relies heavily on accurate tissue diagnosis and classification. Lymphoma burden is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa, but diagnostic pathology services are still limited. This article summarizes lymphoma epidemiology, current diagnostic capacity, and obstacles and opportunities for improving practice in the region.
Lymphoma and Pathology in Sub-Saharan Africa: Current Approaches and Future Directions
Tomoka T, Montgomery ND, Powers E, Dhungel BM, Morgan EA, Mulenga M, Gopal S, Fedoriw Y
Clinics in Laboratory Medicine
Full text available at ScienceDirect.
Abstract
The care of patients with lymphoma relies heavily on accurate tissue diagnosis and classification. In sub-Saharan Africa, where lymphoma burden is increasing because of population growth, aging, and continued epidemic levels of human immunodeficiency virus infection, diagnostic pathology services are limited. This article summarizes lymphoma epidemiology, current diagnostic capacity, and obstacles and opportunities for improving practice in the region.
Key Points:
- Clinical and pathologic studies of patients not infected with human immunodeficiency virus with hematolymphoid malignancies are severely lacking in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), but are necessary to inform and support effective treatment strategies.
- Most chemotherapeutic agents used for lymphoma treatment are inexpensive and available. As such, access to these therapies depends on accurate diagnosis and not necessarily funding.
- Targeted therapies for some lymphomas require specific diagnostic tools beyond the standard histology that is implementable in SSA.