Eurogin Conference 8th-11th October 2017

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October 13, 2017 by Felix Jede

The ETiCCS initiative was represented at the EUROGIN Conference 8-11 October 2017 held in Amsterdam by three oral presentations and one poster.

Dr. Omenge from Moi University Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya offered a firsthand perspective of the shortcomings of current screening methods in the fight against cervical cancer and sparked a lively discussion about what should be the way forward. Based on the preliminary results of his study where he compared HPV DNA testing with VIA and the biomarker p16/Ki-67 he argued for a shift from VIA to HPV DNA testing in the future in his setting.

Felix Jede from Heidelberg University presented the newly developed digital data system developed by the ETiCCS team for community-wide cervical cancer screening in remote settings. The app-based system provides a new interactive communication between all stakeholders involved, including data collectors, nurses, gynecologists, pathologists, lab technicians and the study leaders. It is currently used in a rural district of Ethiopia.

Dr Solomon Berhe Wubneh presented the findings of a clinic-based study estimating the burden of HPV infection and the genotype distribution among women living in rural and periurban settings in the Gondar region of Ethiopia.


Dr Hermann Bussmann presented the vision and aims of the ETiCCS initiative and summarized the latest achievements. He reminded of the need to find solutions to increase access to cervical cancer screening, pointed out how new technologies could be harnessed and emphasized the importance of building alliances with local partners, industry and science.

Round table discussion on cervical cancer during 70th world health assembly in Geneva

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June 11, 2017 by Hermann Bussmann

On 21 May 2017 H Bussmann from EtiCCS and JP Bogers from WACA HPV participated at the Round Table discussion on cervical cancer ‘ An NCD that we can overcome’ offered to African ministers and permanent secretaries of health and their delegations as a side event to the 70th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva. This was an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences, achievements and challenges. The success of the meeting was reflected in the highly interactive discussion which is highlighted in the meeting report.

 

Here the link to the report as pdf: An NCD that we can overcome 2017!

ETiCCS awards ceremony at Department of Computer Science, National University of Singapore

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April 20, 2017 by Hermann Bussmann

Under the mentorship of Prof Shengdong Zhao from the Department of Computer Science, National University of Singapore (NUS) between 17 March and 19 April 2017 students reading the module ‘User Interface development’ had the task to build in their final class project a community service app based on the specifications provided by ETiCCS (Emerging Technologies in Cervical Cancer Screening) to help the community workers, nurses, doctors and lab technicians to fight cervical cancer in rural Ethiopia. On 20 April 2017 prizes were awarded at NUS to the teams with the most advanced prototypes by Tan Tarn How from the Institute of Policy Studies, NUS, who is also a landmark, award-winning author and internationally famous playwright.

Award winning ceremony at NUS with Prof Shengdong Zhao, Tan Tarn How and the winning team including Adam Alsegard, Timote Vaucher, and ShenXuan.

Prof. Shengdong Zhao during telephone conference discussion the project.

ETiCCS meets WAKA at IPVC 2017

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On March 2nd 2017 WAKA is organising a satellite symposium “WAKA HPV NETWORK: HPV IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA” at the IPVC 2017 where ETiCCS and SAP will present their IT-based approach to cervical cancer screening in resource-limited regions. The meeting will take place in Meeting Room 1.43 at 3:00 – 4:30 pm.

SAP Design and Heidelberg University Hospital join forces to fight cervical cancer

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World Cancer Day

Date:  2 February 2017 to 9 February 2017

We are proud to support this year’s #WorldCancerDay. SAP Design and Heidelberg University Hospital are committed to support the UN’s global goal of good health and well being by improving research and treatment of cancer through the power of design, applied medical research and IT.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of death for women worldwide and ranks #1 in Kenya. Although it is easily preventable, most eligible women have never been screened and have no access to healthcare resources. Heidelberg University Hospital piloted the Emerging Technologies in Cervical Cancer Screening (ETiCCS) test during a one-year study with 800 women at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret Kenya. SAP Design joined the Heidelberg University Hospital to digitize the recruiting, screening and examination process of ETiCCS by applying Design Thinking and latest cloud technology.


ETiCCS invited to the international cancer control symposium 2016 in Asunción, Paraguay

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Under the auspices of the Paraguay Ministry of Health the national cancer program jointly with the National Itapua University, Encarnación, hosted a first international cancer control symposium from 3-6 October 2016 in Asuncion, Paraguay. Representative of the leading regional cancer institutions and international organizations including PAHO, IARC, UICC, RINC as well as international experts from Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Germany discussed the situation of cancer burden and cancer control in Paraguay. A major concern is the high prevalence of the gynecological cancers of the breast and uterine cervix. Especially cervical cancer is  highly preventable through early detection and vaccination.

Dr Beate Pesch from Germany and Dr Manuel Codas from Encarnacion, Paraguay, the coordinators of the meeting

As an outcome of the symposium the National Itapua University in Encarnación and the ETiCCS program, Heidelberg university plan to collaborate in a cervical cancer screening study based on primary HPV testing and treatment of women identified as high-risk for cancer through either visual inspection or use of highly specific biomarker.

 

Hermann Bussmann attends the 2016 DAAD Summer School

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Under the theme ‘Health Services for Chronic Diseases in Africa’ the university partnership between the University of Addis Abeba and the Martin-Luther-University Halle, Germany, had invited Ethiopian and German experts to take part in the 2016 DAAD summer school. Headed by Dr med Kandelhardt master and PhD students from both countries presented the findings of their projects in various fields including gynecologic oncology. To advance cervical cancer screening in Ethiopia plans were specified to set up an HPV testing laboratory at the University of Addis Abeba under the stewardship of Prof A. Kaufmann, laboratory for tumor immunology, Charite, Berlin.

Dr. Tilahun visits Heidelberg University Hospital and the SAP AppHaus

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Dres. Tilahun and Bussmann at the Department of Applied Tumor Biology

Dr Binyam Chakilu TILAHUN (MPH,MSC, PHD ), Assistant professor, Institute of Public Health, University of Gondar, Ethiopia and Research Associate Institute of Medical Informatics, University of Münster  visited the ETiCCS team on 17 May 2016 to consult on the digital data collection system to be developed for the community cervical cancer screening project in the Gondar region of Ethiopia.

 

He also visited the SAP Design and Co-Innovation Center, based at the AppHaus in Heidelberg, where he met with Michaela Epp, SAP’s project lead for ETiCCS. Michaela showed SAP’s creative space in the old tobacco factory in Heidelberg and described the concepts behind it.

Furthermore, she explained methods, like Design Thinking, that are used by SAP’s Design Team to find innovative solutions for customer challenges. These methods were applied to design and develop the mobile cloud-based solution that was used by the ETiCCS team in Eldoret, Kenya.

Michaela Epp guides Dr. Tilahun through the SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg