Multisector Collaborations and Global Oncology: The Only Way Forward.

PURPOSE: At the 12th meeting of AORTIC (African Organization for Research and Training in Cancer) in Maputo, Mozambique, held between November 5 and November 8, 2019, a special workshop was organized to focus on the need for collaboration and coordination between governments and health systems in Africa with academic, industry, association, and other nongovernmental organizations to effect sustainable positive change for the care of patients with cancer. METHODS: Representatives from seven different projects in Africa presented implementation science and demonstration projects of their to date efforts in cancer system improvement including patient access, South-South partnerships, in-country specialized training, palliative care consortium, treatment outcomes, and focused pathology and diagnostic capacity building. Key partners of the various projects served as moderators and commentators during the session. RESULTS: From across all the presentations, lessons learned and exemplary evidence of the value of partnerships were gathered and summarized. CONCLUSION: The concluding synthesis of the presentations determined that with the broad needs across cancer requiring in-depth expertise at each point on a patient's journey, no single organization can effect change alone. Multipartner collaborations not only should be the norm but should also be coordinated so that efforts are not duplicated and maximum patient access to cancer diagnosis and care is achieved.

Complete Remission in Locally Advanced Breast Cancer: What Comprehensive Multi-Modality Treatment Has to Offer in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Locally advanced breast cancer presents as a heterogeneous disease, but it is often best treated with aggressive combined modality therapy.  Commonly, it carries a more guarded prognosis. Given the above, it can be a particularly challenging entity to treat in resource-limited settings. We identify one such case with a relative lack of hormone receptor positivity in the sub-Saharan country of Zambia. Management of the disease was hampered by the challenges of resource constraints and communication gaps that are especially acute in low- to middle-income nations as compared to Western societies. However, with skilled interdisciplinary advice and the means available at a tertiary care facility, our patient was able to afford a superior clinical outcome in the form of a pathologic complete response via the use of surgical, systemic, and radiotherapy modalities. Additionally, the ensuing remission was corroborated by a careful follow-up regime. We thus reinforce the feasibility and value of a team-based approach in the management of this disease regardless of the setting.