Treatment outcomes of esophageal cancer in Eastern Africa: protocol of a multi-center, prospective, observational, open cohort study.

Background: Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a major cause of cancer morbidity and mortality in Eastern Africa. The majority of patients with ESCC in Eastern Africa present with advanced disease at the time of diagnosis. Several palliative interventions for ESCC are currently in use within the region, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy with and without chemotherapy, and esophageal stenting with self-expandable metallic stents; however, the comparative effectiveness of these interventions in a low resource setting has yet to be examined.

Breast cancer diagnosis in a resource poor environment through a collaborative multidisciplinary approach: the Kenyan experience.

Introduction: The majority of women with breast cancer in Kenya present with node-positive (stage II) or locally advanced Q7 disease (stage IIIB). Diagnosis is made on fine needle aspirate cytology and treatment is with surgery if resectable. Diagnostic core biopsy is available only at subspecialty hospitals.

Environmental, socio-demographic and behavioural determinants of malaria risk in the western Kenyan highlands: a case-control study.

Objective: To identify risk factors for uncomplicated malaria in highland areas of East Africa at higher risk of malaria epidemics, in order to design appropriate interventions.

Methods: Prospective, population-based, case-control study in the Nandi Hills, a highland area of western Kenya, to identify environmental, sociodemographic and behavioural factors associated with clinical malaria. Data were collected using field observation, a structured questionnaire, and a global positioning system device.

Risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection during a malaria epidemic in highland Kenya, 1997.

Malaria epidemics in highland areas of East Africa have occurred with increasing frequency since the late 1980s, but the actual risk of Plasmodium falciparum infection in children and adults during these epidemics has not been well characterized. During a malaria epidemic in a highland area of Kenya, risk of infection was assessed in 50 adults (> or =18 years old) and 32 children (< or =8 years old) after treatment and parasitologic clearance with sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine treatment. Over a 10-week period, 36 of the 82 study participants (43.