Perceived acceptability of self-administered topical therapy for cervical precancer treatment among women undergoing cervical cancer screening in Kenya.

Purpose: Innovative strategies are urgently needed to meet the World Health Organization's 2030 target of treating 90% of women with precancerous cervical lesions, especially in countries most affected by cervical cancer. We assessed the acceptability of self-administered intravaginal therapies for treating cervical precancer in women undergoing cervical cancer screening and precancer treatment in Kenya. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among women aged 18 to 65 years undergoing cervical cancer screening or precancer treatment between January and October 2023 in Kisumu County, Kenya. Participants completed a questionnaire about their perceptions and perceived acceptability of self- or provider-administered topical therapies for cervical precancer treatment. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 379 questionnaires were completed. The median age of participants was 35 years (IQR 25-62), 62% had a primary education or less, and 71% earned $5 or less daily. All participants had been screened for cervical cancer, and 191 (51%) had received precancer treatment, primarily thermal ablation. Ninety-eight percent of participants were willing to use a self-administered intravaginal therapy for cervical precancer, if available. The majority, 91%, believed their male partner would support their use. Given a choice, 63% preferred self-admiration at home compared to provider-administration of a topical therapy in the clinic, citing time and cost savings. In multivariate analysis, married women were more likely to expect partner support for self-administration than single women. Participants preferred a therapy used less frequently but for a longer duration, compared to daily use therapy with a shorter duration of use. Conclusions: Self-administered intravaginal therapies for cervical precancer treatment are highly acceptable among women undergoing screening and precancer treatment in Kenya.

Implementation and Evaluation of Educational Videos to Improve Cancer Knowledge and Patient Empowerment.

PURPOSE: Low health literacy is a leading cause of treatment abandonment among patients receiving cancer care at Kamuzu Central Hospital (KCH) in Malawi. METHODS: We developed cancer educational videos featuring Malawian providers and played them in the KCH oncology clinic. The videos addressed cancer-related topics, including disease biology, common myths, diagnostic procedures, treatment, side effects, and survivorship. After 6 months of implementation, we compared results from 50 pre- and postintervention surveys to assess change in cancer knowledge and care experience. RESULTS: Both pre- and postintervention cancer knowledge were good: a median of nine questions were answered correctly of 11 in both assessments. Despite the intervention, most continued to incorrectly identify cancer as an infection (pre: n = 26, 52%; post: n = 25, 50%; P = 1.0), although improvements were observed in patients' knowledge of correct actions for fever at home (pre: n = 38, 76%; post: n = 43, 86%; P = .31). Care experiences were overall good. Postintervention results indicate that more patients felt always listened to by their providers (pre: n = 18, 36%; post: n = 29, 58%; P < .01). However, we also noted a higher rate of patient dissatisfaction of care as more patients felt that they could not understand chemotherapy counseling (pre: n = 11, 22%; post: n = 22, 44%; P < .01). Assessments of video satisfaction indicate that patients found the videos very helpful in terms of understanding their disease (n = 47, 96%) and side effects (n = 48, 98%) and felt empowered to speak up with their providers (n = 46, 96%). CONCLUSION: Standardized education materials for patients that can be feasibly implemented throughout sub-Saharan Africa are urgently needed. Cancer educational videos are a low-cost way to educate and empower patients with cancer in resource-constrained settings although in-person discussions remain a crucial part of care.

Pediatric lymphoma patients in Malawi present with poor health-related quality of life at diagnosis and improve throughout treatment and follow-up across all Pediatric PROMIS-25 domains.

BACKGROUND: Patient-reportedoutcomes (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). METHODS: 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 scores were calculated for the six PROMIS-25 HRQoL domains (Mobility, Anxiety, Depressive Symptoms, Fatigue, Peer Relationships, Pain Interference). Differences in HRQoL throughout treatment were compared using the minimally important difference (MID) and an ANOVA analysis. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates and Cox hazard ratios for mortality are reported. RESULTS: Seventy-five children completed PROMIS-25 surveys at diagnosis, 35 (47%) during active treatment, and 24 (32%) at follow-up. The majority of patients died (n = 37, 49%) or were lost to follow-up (n = 6, 8%). Most (n = 51, 68%) were male, median age was 10 (interquartile range [IQR] 8-12), 48/73 (66%) presented with advanced stage III/IV, 61 (81%) were diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma and 14 (19%) Hodgkin lymphoma. At diagnosis, HRQoL was poor across all domains, except for Peer Relationships. Improvements in HRQoL during active treatment and follow-up exceeded the MID. On exploratory analysis, fair-poor PROMIS Mobility <40 and severe Pain Intensity = 10 at diagnosis were associated with increased mortality risk and worse survival, but were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric lymphoma patients in Malawi present with poor HRQoL that improves throughout treatment and survivorship. Baseline PROMIS scores may provide important prognostic information. PROs offer an opportunity to include patient voices and prioritize holistic patient-centered care in low-resource settings.

Feasibility of upfront mobile money transfers for transportation reimbursement to promote retention among patients receiving lymphoma treatment in Malawi.

BACKGROUND: 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. METHODS: We sent visit reminder texts and offered upfront money to cover transportation costs through a mobile money transfer (MMT) platform to lymphoma patients enrolled in a prospective cohort in Malawi. The primary aim was to test the feasibility of upfront MMTs. RESULTS: We sent 1034 visit reminder texts to 189 participating patients. Of these texts, 614 (59%) were successfully delivered, with 536 (52%) responses. 320/536 (60%) MMTs were sent to interested patients and 312/320 (98%) came to their appointment on time. Of 189 total patients, 120 (63%) were reached via text and 84 (44%) received MMTs a median of three times (IQR 2-5). Median age of reachable patients was 41 (IQR 30-50), 75 (63%) were male, 62 (52%) were HIV+ and 79 (66%) resided outside of Lilongwe. CONCLUSION: MMTs were a feasible way to cover upfront transportation costs for patients reachable via text, however many of our patients were unreachable. Future studies exploring barriers to care, particularly among unreachable patients, may help improve the efficacy of MMT initiatives and guide retention strategies throughout SSA.

Outcomes and prognostic factors for women with breast cancer in Malawi.

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer incidence in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is increasing, and SSA has the highest age-standardized breast cancer mortality rate worldwide. However, high-quality breast cancer data are limited in SSA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined breast cancer patient and tumor characteristics among women in Lilongwe, Malawi and evaluated risk factor associations with patient outcomes. We consecutively enrolled 100 women ≥ 18 years with newly diagnosed, pathologically confirmed breast cancer into a prospective longitudinal cohort with systematically assessed demographic data, HIV status, and clinical characteristics. Tumor subtypes were further determined by immunohistochemistry, overall survival (OS) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods, and hazards ratios (HR) were calculated by Cox proportional hazard analyses. RESULTS: Of the 100 participants, median age was 49 years, 19 were HIV-positive, and 75 presented with late stage (III/IV) disease. HER2-enriched and triple-negative/basal-like subtypes represented 17% and 25% tumors, respectively. One-year OS for the cohort was 74% (95% CI 62-83%). Multivariable analyses revealed mortality was associated with HIV (HR, 5.15; 95% CI 1.58-16.76; p = 0.006), stage IV disease (HR, 8.86; 95% CI 1.07-73.25; p = 0.043), and HER2-enriched (HR, 7.46; 95% CI 1.21-46.07; p = 0.031), and triple-negative subtypes (HR, 7.80; 95% CI 1.39-43.69; p = 0.020). CONCLUSION: Late stage presentation, HER2-enriched and triple-negative subtypes, and HIV coinfection were overrepresented in our cohort relative to resource-rich settings and were associated with mortality. These findings highlight robust opportunities for population- and patient-level interventions across the entire cascade of care to improve breast cancer outcomes in low-income countries in SSA.

Modified EPOCH for high-risk non-Hodgkin lymphoma in sub-Saharan Africa.

Aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is among the most common cancers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where CHOP is standard treatment and outcomes are poor. To address this, we treated 17 newly diagnosed adult patients in Malawi with Burkitt (n = 8), plasmablastic (n = 8), and primary effusion lymphoma (n = 1) with a modified EPOCH regimen between 2016 and 2019. Twelve patients (71%) were male and the median age was 40 years (range 16-63). Eleven (65%) were HIV infected, median CD4 count was 218 cells/µL (range 9-460), and nine (82%) had suppressed HIV RNA < 400 copies/mL. Patients received a median of six cycles (range 2-8) and median follow-up was 14 months (range 2-34) among patients still alive. Grade 3/4 neutropenia was observed in 26% of cycles and in 65% of patients. Sixteen (94%) responded to EPOCH and 10 (59%) achieved a complete response. One-year overall survival (OS) was 62% (95% confidence interval [CI], 42%-91%). Five patients (29%) died from progressive NHL and three (18%) from treatment-related complications. These data suggest EPOCH with setting-appropriate modifications may be a practical, safe, and effective option for improving high-risk NHL outcomes in Malawi and comparable settings, which deserves further prospective evaluation.

When symptoms of disease overlap with symptoms of depression.

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis of depression is often dependent on somatic symptoms which overlap with the symptoms of many medical illnesses. METHOD: We analysed tape recorded interviews of 46 out of 61 eligible community dwelling older adults with advanced disease and many somatic symptoms of depression. Participants answered an open question about feelings, and structured questions about symptoms of depression. RESULTS: Twenty-four (39%) patients met DSM-IV symptom criteria for depression when somatic symptoms were included, and only 1 (2%) when they were excluded. Of the 24, 22 (92%) reported two or more psychological symptoms of depression and 14 of the 17 (82%) for whom transcripts were available disclosed feelings of psychological distress. DISCUSSION: Although every older adult with advanced disease reported somatic symptoms of depression, most did not meet DSM-IV criteria of depression even when all somatic symptoms are included. Including somatic symptoms accurately identifies patients who warrant follow up when psychological distress in unstructured interviews is used as the gold standard. There is no need to exclude somatic symptoms when considering a diagnosis of major depression in medical patients.