Cervical cancer in southern Malawi: A prospective analysis of presentation, management, and outcomes.

Background: Malawi has the highest age standardised rate of cervical cancer in the world. This study describes the presentation, management and short-term outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed cervical cancer at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH), in Southern Malawi.

Methods: All patients with a new diagnosis of cervical cancer presenting to QECH between 1st January-1st July 2015 had demographic data, referral pathway, stage, histology and management prospectively recorded at presentation, and at two months after initial presentation.

Development of multi-disciplinary breast cancer care in Southern Malawi.

The Edinburgh Malawi Breast Cancer Project, a collaborative partnership project between the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital (QECH) Oncology Unit, Blantyre, Malawi and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, UK, was established in 2015. The principal objective of the project is to help to develop high quality multi-disciplinary breast cancer care in Malawi. A needs assessment identified three priority areas for further improvement of breast cancer services: multi-disciplinary working, development of oestrogen receptor (ER) testing and management of clinical data.

The Edinburgh Malawi Cancer Partnership: helping to establish multidisciplinary cancer care in Blantyre, Malawi.

In response to the growing incidence of cancer in Malawi, a new oncology unit was established at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre. The unit opened in 2010, the first in the country, and is led by a single consultant oncologist. In 2012, a healthcare partnership was formed between the oncology and palliative care unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital and the Edinburgh Cancer Centre, UK.

Tuberculosis Diagnosis Delaying Treatment of Cancer: Experience From a New Oncology Unit in Blantyre, Malawi.

Purpose: Malawi is a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa with limited health care infrastructure and high prevalance of HIV and tuberculosis. This study aims to determine the characteristics of patients presenting to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital Oncology Unit, Blantyre, Malawi, who had been treated for tuberculosis before they were diagnosed with cancer.

Methods: Clinical data on all patients presenting to the oncology unit at Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital from 2010 to 2014 after a prior diagnosis of tuberculosis were prospectively recorded, and a descriptive analysis was undertaken.