Cancer Detection and Diagnostic Technologies for Global Health

Dr. Ian Magrath attended a meeting on “Cancer Detection and Diagnostic Technologies for Global Health” organized by the NCI, USA on August 22nd_23rd, 2011. The meeting was designed to share the challenges facing low and middle income countries in the early detection, diagnosis, and management of a variety of cancers and to bring health care experts and engineers together to identify new, inexpensive technologies that could expedite and simplify their diagnosis and treatment even in a field setting. Dr. Magrath discussed the nature, classification, diagnosis and treatment of lymphomas and among other suggestions, highlighted the possibility of developing a simple, handheld, and more accurate device for the diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma, a highly treatable disease, accounting for perhaps half of pediatric cancer occurring in equatorial Africa, and currently generally diagnosed, often inaccurately, by fine needle aspiration. During the visit, Dr. Magrath also met with Dr. Harold Varmus, NCI’s Director and Dr. Ted Trimble, the new Director of the Center for Global Health Research, to discuss future collaboration.