Training African Pathologists in Cancer Staging

GLOBAL GIVING PROJECT REPORT - December 2018

Training African Pathologists in Cancer Diagnosis and Staging

The Training African Pathologists in Cancer Diagnosis (TAPCD) workshop was held November 16th-18th, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop once again was held in conjunction with Aga Khan University Hospital Nairobi (AKUHN), the training course occurring in the Provost’s Office facility. Course topics included locally relevant cancers including endometrial/ovarian; gastric/esophageal; head/neck; and breast. The workshop had 20 participants. This workshop was conducted in the blended workshop style, with short lectures (‘toolkits’) followed by small-group case completion. In addition, the workshop series incorporated several new elements, including reviews of challenging local cases, incorporation of local faculty co-trainers to ensure course sustainability, and an evening clinicopathological correlation (CPC) session.

This workshop was funded by an R13 grant through the US National Cancer Institute, private donations from faculty members, in-kind donations by faculty members, and, of course, through the support of Global Giving.

As you know, ASAP’s manuscript outlining the research conducted for the first three workshops was published in the American Journal of Clinical Pathology (AJCP) for publication. This article can be accessed at the following link: https://academic.oup.com/ajcp/advance-article/doi/10.1093/ajcp/aqx158/4872377?guestAccessKey=723401d0-ac81-40e9-a432-e9f39d571483. The research was funded by the US National Cancer Institute as a PAR grant, and through that project we learned that the most effective way to train pathologists in cancer staging was by the blended approach using lectures and case-based training.

We thank you all for your continued support and we are beginning to plan for another workshop, either in West Africa or another part of East Africa. We will continue to provide updates as this planning proceeds!

We are rapidly approaching our Training African Pathologists in Cancer Diagnosis (TAPCD) workshop! Through our bi-weekly planning meetings, our team has been working hard to design and develop the program and curriculum for the upcoming workshop to be held November 16th-18th, 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya. The workshop will once again be held in conjunction with Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi (AKUHN) and the College of Pathologists of East, Central and Southern Africa (COPECSA). These efforts have included the development of curriculum content for the new cancers that will be included: endometrial, ovarian, gastric, esophageal, head and neck; as well as the review and selection of cases for the clinicopathological correlation (CPC) session.  

We have completed our curriculum drafts for the six cancers, and will begin testing the cases in September. We have also begun the development of an online refresher module that will be made available to participants after the workshop, to improve retention and implementation of skills and materials covered in the 3-day workshop, as well as a pre- and post- workshop evaluation to measure our impact. Over the next three months, our team will finalize the curriculum and e-learning modules, award our scholarships to participants, and work with Aga Khan University to prepare travel, lodging and transportation for our faculty and participants.

We are pleased to see the body of this workshop come together, and are excited for the design and refinements to come in the next few months.  Thank you all for your continued support!

• TAPCD_August_2018_Project_Report.pdf (PDF)