June 2022 PURPOSE Burkitt lymphoma (BL) accounts for 90% of pediatric lymphomas in sub-Saharan Africa. Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria is considered an etiological factor of BL. We describe the geographic distribution of pediatric BL in Malawi and association with malaria prevalence (PfPR). We also examine the influence of travel time to cancer referral center as … Read more

June 2022 PURPOSE There are limited data on treatment and outcomes for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) among adolescents and young adults in sub-Saharan Africa. We describe a prospective observational cohort in Malawi. METHODS Patients age 15-39 years with newly diagnosed ALL at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Malawi, were enrolled from 2013 to 2019; follow-up was censored … Read more

Sep 2022 Access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) led to epidemiological changes in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) associated lymphoma in high-income countries such as reductions in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and stable or increased Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and Burkitt lymphoma (BL). In 2016, Malawi implemented a universal ART (UART) policy, expanding ART eligibility to all … Read more

July 2021- There are no clinical trials involving patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) in sub-Saharan Africa since antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV became widely available in this region. We aimed to establish the safety and efficacy of rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) in patients with DLBCL in Malawi. This prospective, … Read more

July 2021- Cost-effectiveness data for cancer treatment are needed from sub-Saharan Africa, where diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a common, curable cancer. In high-income countries, the standard of care for DLBCL is R-CHOP (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) chemoimmunotherapy. Rituximab is often not available in sub-Saharan Africa due to perceived unaffordability, and treatment … Read more

May 2021-Cancer outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) remain suboptimal, in part due to poor patient retention. Many patients travel long distances to receive care, and transportation costs are often prohibitively expensive. These are well-known and established causes of delayed treatment and care abandonment in Malawi and across SSA. We sent visit reminder texts and offered … Read more

August 2021- Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) that assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are increasingly important components of cancer care and research that are infrequently used in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We administered the Chichewa Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcome Measurement Information System Pediatric (PROMIS)-25 at diagnosis, active treatment, and follow-up among pediatric lymphoma patients in Lilongwe, Malawi. Mean … Read more

August 2020- SERIES: People living with HIV or AIDS are at increased risk of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma compared with HIV-negative individuals. Data on the risk of multiple myeloma or leukaemia are inconsistent and of low quality but the risk does not seem to be increased. Specific haematological malignancies occur in different contexts of age, … Read more

March 2020- COMMENTARY: As governments in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) expand access to effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-infected patients, cancer is becoming an increasingly important cause of preventable death in the region. According to the Global Burden of Disease study, cancer is now the second leading cause of death worldwide, and, despite decreases in cancer … Read more

February 2020-This study provides among the first molecular characterizations of DLBCL from SSA, demonstrates marked gene expression differences by HIV status, and identifies genomic and immunophenotypic characteristics that can inform future basic and clinical investigations.