ARMONK, N.Y.,
Nov. 11, 2019
/PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM),
American Cancer Society (ACS), the National Comprehensive Cancer
Network® (NCCN®) and the Clinton Health
Access Initiative (CHAI), today announced a new alliance to
help improve access to high-quality cancer care
and treatment in Sub-Saharan Africa called Allied Against
Cancer. The Alliance will support a network of
African oncology experts and technical assistance partners
to help improve the quality of cancer
care, including collaborating closely with the African Cancer
Coalition to establish priorities and execute these initiatives
locally.
There are more than 800,000 new cancer cases each year in
Sub-Saharan Africa and incidence is projected to double by 2040.
And as these countries address the growing cancer epidemic, data
and emerging technologies can play a
significant role in cancer treatment control and care. The need for
more affordable cancer treatment and strong systems for their
delivery are crucial to help improve
patients' survival.
To address gaps in access to cancer medicines, ACS and
CHAI teamed up in 2016 to bring lower prices for 16
common chemotherapy drugs to a half-dozen countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa. And top American oncologists have supported the African
Cancer Coalition -- comprising of 110 African oncologists
representing 34 hospitals from 13 countries in Sub-Saharan
Africa—to adapt cancer-treatment guidelines for use in African
hospitals. The African Cancer Coalition, working with experts from
NCCN, adapted the 46 NCCN Guidelines® and
NCCN Framework for Resource Stratification of NCCN Guidelines (NCCN
Framework™) to create the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™ for
Sub-Saharan Africa specifically to be used by oncologists across
Sub-Saharan Africa. These guidelines have been endorsed by leading
cancer centers or health ministries in six countries to
date.
IBM then developed an online tool called Cancer Guidelines
Navigator to provide African oncology professionals with
interactive access to the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™ for
Sub-Saharan Africa at no charge. Oncologists based in Sub Saharan
Africa can input a clinical description for a cancer
patient1 -- such as tumor type, stage,
biomarker status, and prior treatments -- into the online tool.
The Cancer Guidelines Navigator then points the user to
relevant treatment options input from the
NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™. At this time, the tool includes NCCN
Harmonized Guidelines™ for cervical cancer, prostate cancer, breast
cancer, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and Kaposi
sarcoma.
IBM also helped to transform the ACS ChemoSafe Facility
Assessment Tool – from an Excel-based document to an interactive,
easy to use mobile application- to scale the program's goal of
improving the safety and quality for chemotherapy handling in
cancer centers. This tool, which is accessible at no cost on iOS or
Android mobile phones or tablets, allows healthcare workers to
review the safety of hazardous drugs at each location where they
may be handled in their healthcare facility, including the pharmacy
receiving, treatment areas, housekeeping, and waste area. Upon
completion of the assessment, the tool provides recommendations
to help improve the handling of hazardous
drugs at potential points of exposure,
based on international and national standards. This information may
be used by hospitals to create policies and budgets supporting
quality improvement.
"Allied Against Cancer brings together a group of
top-notch experts to tackle the growing burden of cancer in
Africa, and the American Cancer
Society is proud to be a founding member of the alliance," said
Gary Reedy, Chief Executive Officer,
American Cancer Society.
"With the increasing burden of cancer in this part of the
world, we must strive to improve patients' access to timely and
affordable care. Technology and data can help create efficient
healthcare systems so that national and regional medical networks
can increase support their local communities," said Dr.
Solomon Assefa, Vice President,
Africa & Emerging Market
Solutions and Director, IBM Research - Africa.
"These evidence and expert consensus-based treatment
recommendations combine the practical with the aspirational, to
elevate the quality of cancer care at a time when the people of
Sub-Saharan Africa need it most," said Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief
Executive Officer, NCCN.
"This new alliance will help ensure that lifesaving
medications and tools are available where and when they are needed
so that health professionals can better diagnose, treat, and care
for patients suffering with cancer throughout Sub-Saharan Africa,"
said CHAI CEO Ira C.
Magaziner.
"To address the growing burden of cancer in Africa and worldwide, African oncologists need
quick and easy access to current treatment options as well as
quality, affordable treatment for their patients. This alliance
provides an opportunity to strengthen the ties within the global
oncology community in ways that can deliver better outcomes for our
patients," said Professor Isaac
Adewole, Co-chair of the African Cancer
Coalition.
Read more about Allied Against Cancer
at www.alliedagainstcancer.org
Read more about IBM Corporate Social
Responsibility:
https://www.ibm.org/
IBM Media Contact
Katie Leasor
kleasor@us.ibm.com
American Cancer Society Media
Contact
Charaighn
Sesock
charaighn.sesock@cancer.org
CHAI Media Contact
Regan
Lachapelle
rlachapelle@clintonhealthaccess.org
National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) Media
Contact
Rachel
Darwin
darwin@NCCN.org
1 Cancer Guidelines Navigator does not
require any patient identifiable information or protected health
information (PHI) and is not connected to a hospital's electronic
medical record (EMR) system.
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SOURCE IBM