Partnering for Success: Expanding Breast and Cancer Screening in Rural Honduras One Clinic at a Time

Abstract

Abstract 36 Background: Women in rural Honduras have limited access to cancer education, screening, and care. With village leaders, we piloted breast and cervical cancer screening in El Rosario, Honduras. Our objectives were to improve awareness and access, mitigate barriers, connect community and Honduran providers, and link patients with abnormal findings to cancer treatment. In 2013, health professionals and staff from Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth- Hitchcock joined Honduran clinicians and medical students from La Liga Contra el Cáncer for two days of rural cancer screening. Peer educators taught 475 participants from 31 rural communities how to conduct self-breast exams. Of these participants, 238 chose clinical breast exams; 5% were clinically abnormal and 2.9% were referred for services at La Liga with 100% compliance. 34% reported barriers to cervical cancer screening due to distance and lack of transportation. 14.5% tested positive for HPV and 8% were positive for high risk HPV genotypes including 11 of 13 known high risk types. This group has been retested periodically by Pap. The collaborators will return in April 2016 to repeat the study, adding oral and thyroid screening. Genotyping for hrHPV will be onsite with a novel assay for PCR developed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Reflex testing with Pap will follow as needed. Follow up will be at La Liga where care is offered for free or at a reduced cost. A similar project for 400 urban factory-workers will also take place in April 2016. Methods: 2-day, multi-modal education and screening outreach run brigade-style combining low-tech primary screening with onsite molecular pathology. Conclusions: Partnerships between local leaders and clinicians are predicted to be essential to project implementation. Targeting populations with education and screening plus building connections to follow up care will provide earlier detection of breast and cervical cancer. We predict that community leadership will be critical to preventing loss to follow-up. AUTHORS' DISCLOSURES OF POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST: Derek S. Stenquist No relationship to disclose Suyapa Bejarano No relationship to disclose Linda S. Kennedy No relationship to disclose Silvia Portillo No relationship to disclose Ana Barrientos No relationship to disclose Suzanne P. Burgos No relationship to disclose Roberto Armando Elvir Zelaya No relationship to disclose Christine Averill No relationship to disclose Emmeline Liu No relationship to disclose Francine de Abreau No relationship to disclose Paul Burchard No relationship to disclose Torrey Gallagher No relationship to disclose Martha Goodrich No relationship to disclose Scottie Eliassen No relationship to disclose Julie Weiss No relationship to disclose Camilo Mandujano No relationship to disclose Jennifer Alford-Teaster No relationship to disclose Gregory J. Tsongalis Research Funding: Illumina, Qiagen, Thermofisher Tracy Onega No relationship to disclose Mary D. Chamberlin No relationship to disclose