Building the ecosystem for pediatric neuro-oncology care in Pakistan: Results of a 7-year long twinning program between Canada and Pakistan

Authors

Naureen Mushtaq, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Fatima Mustansir, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Khurram Minhas, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Sadia Usman, Aga Khan University
Bilal Mazhar Qureshi, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Fatima Mubarak, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Muhammad Ehsan Bari, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Syed Ather Enam, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Altaf Ali Laghari, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Gohar Javed, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Muhammad Shahzad Shamim, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Aneela Darbar, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Ahmed Nadeem Abbasi, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Salman Kirmani, Aga Khan UniversityFollow
Shahazadi Resham, Aga Khan University
Afia Bilal, Aga Khan University

Document Type

Article

Department

Haematology/Oncology; Paediatrics and Child Health; Surgery; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine

Abstract

Background: Low- and middle-income countries sustain the majority of pediatric cancer burden, with significantly poorer survival rates compared to high-income countries. Collaboration between institutions in low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries is one of the ways to improve cancer outcomes.
Methods: Patient characteristics and effects of a pediatric neuro-oncology twinning program between the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada and several hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan over 7 years are described in this article.
Results: A total of 460 patients were included in the study. The most common primary central nervous system tumors were low-grade gliomas (26.7%), followed by medulloblastomas (18%), high-grade gliomas (15%), ependymomas (11%), and craniopharyngiomas (11.7%). Changes to the proposed management plans were made in consultation with expert physicians from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada. On average, 24% of the discussed cases required a change in the original management plan over the course of the twinning program. However, a decreasing trend in change in management plans was observed, from 36% during the first 3.5 years to 16% in the last 3 years. This program also led to the launch of a national pediatric neuro-oncology telemedicine program in Pakistan.
Conclusions: Multidisciplinary and collaborative efforts by experts from across the world have aided in the correct diagnosis and treatment of children with brain tumors and helped establish local treatment protocols. This experience may be a model for other low- and middle-income countries that are planning on creating similar programs

Comments

Volume, issue, and pagination are not provided by the author/publisher

Publication (Name of Journal)

Pediatric blood & cancer

Recommended Citation

Mushtaq, N., Mustansir, F., Minhas, K., Usman, S., Qureshi, B. M., Mubarak, F., Bari, M., Enam, S. A., Laghari, A. A., Javed, G., Shamim, M., Darbar, A., Abbasi, A. N., Kirmani, S., Resham, S., Bilal, A. (2022). Building the ecosystem for pediatric neuro-oncology care in Pakistan: Results of a 7-year long twinning program between Canada and Pakistan. Pediatric blood & cancer.
Available at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_med_haematol_oncol/83