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Correspondence
Explaining the aggressiveness of breast cancer in sub-Saharan African patients
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  1. Sara Bravaccini1,
  2. Lauro Bucchi1,
  3. Maurizio Puccetti2,
  4. Sara Ravaioli1,
  5. Maria Maddalena Tumedei1,
  6. Patrizia Serra1,
  7. Carla Masini1,
  8. Jackson Kahima3,
  9. Nestory Masalu3,
  10. Dino Amadori1
  1. 1 Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola, Italy
  2. 2 Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale (AUSL) Imola, Imola, Italy
  3. 3 Bugando Medical Center, Mwanza, United Republic of Tanzania
  1. Correspondence to Dr Lauro Bucchi, Istituto Scientifico Romagnolo per lo Studio e la Cura dei Tumori (IRST) IRCCS, Meldola 47014, Italy; lauro.bucchi{at}irst.emr.it

https://doi.org/10.1136/jclinpath-2019-206071

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    The incidence of breast cancer (BC) in sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double between 2016 and 2035. The control of the disease in the region will become an increasingly critical challenge.1 Comprehensive prevention, detection and treatment programmes are lacking; the health infrastructure is insufficient; the technical workforce is limited, and the diagnostic and treatment capacity is poor.2

    Over the last 20 years, a pool of Italian cancer research centres, cancer volunteer associations and scientific societies in collaboration with the Tanzanian political and health authorities have created a pathology laboratory (that they considered to be a core element of a cancer care and control programme) and a medical oncology unit at the Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) of Mwanza, the largest referral hospital in the Lake zone of north-western Tanzania. This endeavour is known as the Mwanza Cancer Project.3

    Based on the idea that offering scientific tutoring and access to research programmes can increase the capacity building of local healthcare professionals, these have been involved in several research projects under way in Italy. One of these has been designed to perform a comparative biological characterisation of BC from a series of Tanzanian patients and a series of Italian patients.4 For the former, the pathological processing and reporting of surgical specimens have been performed at the pathology laboratory of the BMC, while oestrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and …

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