Innovative Technology and Collaboration Move Cancer Diagnostics to the Forefront in Sub‐Saharan Africa

Abstract

ASCP President David N.B. Lewin, MD, FASCP, left, and ASCP CEO E. Blair Holladay, PhD, SCT(ASCP)™, review the first biopsied breast cancer image uploaded from Rwanda. As African economic development improves, the prevalence of non‐communicable diseases (NCDs) will increase, with cancer at the forefront. NCDs such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes are often associated with the “globalization of unhealthy lifestyles such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, exposure to tobacco smoke, or the effects of alcohol.1 Over the next five years, the annual number of new cancer cases is predicted to increase to 1 million.2 The economic costs associated with cancer—both immediate healthcare costs and loss of productivity—are threatening continued development and prosperity. Deaths from preventable cancers mean catastrophic health expenditures, lower household income, and potential impoverishment. Globally, the World Economic Forum projects that the NCD epidemic will inflict $21.3 trillion in losses in developing countries over the next two decades.3 Pathology is important for diagnosing and treating cancer, but the countries in Sub‐Saharan Africa lack pathologists and trained laboratory personnel, infrastructure, and adequate opportunities for professional training. In October 2015, the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) and a coalition of partners committed to provide patients in underserved areas of Sub‐Saharan …