Cancer specialists at Northern Care Alliance are supporting a major partnership programme to improve outcomes for people with cancer in Kenya.
The Kenya UK Healthcare Alliance began in 2021 to improve the prevention and management of cancer in Kenya through collaborative working, education and research.
The Christie NHS Trust and The University of Manchester have signed Memoranda of Understanding to support a long-term partnership with Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital (KUTRRH) and Kenya’s Ministry of Health.
And the NIHR Global Health Research Group is supporting this research partnership through funding granted to the university for joint work on lethal squamous cell carcinoma of the oesophagus (OSCC).
Mortality
This type of cancer is the third most common in Kenya and has the highest mortality rate. Late presentation at a more advanced stage of the disease is a common feature among local patients. Earlier detection is therefore crucial to save lives.
During the £3million, three-year, programme, The University of Manchester and the Kenyan hospital will co-create a research-based digital ‘hub and spoke outcomes unit’. In Manchester, Professor Richard Cowan (The Christie and UoM) co-lead on the comprehensive cancer network and capacity building and Professor Yeng Ang (NCA and UoM), co-leads the endotherapy, education and research arms of the project.
Training
Working with Mr Michael Mwachiro, Consultant Surgeon (Tenweck hospital) and Mr Earnest Amos Siwo (Consultant surgeon, KUTRRH), Prof Ang will develop and run an advanced endoscopy training programme to train additional Kenyan fellows. The Kenyan research fellows will also take part in university modules in research methods and clinical leadership and have access to cancer biology, genomics and data science learning.
The programme will also link county hospitals with the cancer centre at KUTRRH facilitated by telemedicine, with the potential for joint virtual multidisciplinary team rounds, and will develop a uniform diagnostic and treatment pathway for OSCC patients.
Earlier in the spring, NCA welcomed a group of visiting Kenyan Fellows, who took part in advanced endoscopy training at the Mayo Building Skills Lab.
Pictured, from left: Mr James Starkey, Pentax Medical, Dr Arash Sangabi, Dr Elizabeth Ratcliffe, Mr Michael Mwachiro, Prof Yeng Ang, Mr Earnest Amos Siwo and Dr James Britton.