R01CA258590

Towards Cervical Cancer Elimination: Implementation and Scale-Up of a Single-Visit, Screen-and-Treat Approach with Thermal Ablation for Sustainable Cervical Cancer Prevention Services in Kenya - Abstract

Cervical cancer (CC) is almost entirely preventable with current technologies, yet it remains the most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer death among women in Eastern Africa. Globally, CC is the 4th most common cause of cancer incidence and mortality among women, and the leading cause of cancer in 42 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 90% of CC deaths occur.

To achieve the 2018 World Health Organization (WHO)'s call to action towards global CC elimination, there is an urgent need to adapt, implement, and scale-up effective technologies in LMICs. The mainstay of CC prevention in LMICs has been the single-visit approach using screen-and-treat (SVA-SAT) method, using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and ablative treatment with cryotherapy to manage precancerous lesions. It is a low-cost screening approach and it minimizes loss to follow-up compared to the traditional cytology.

Despite well-established effectiveness of VIA on population-level reduction in CC burden, the estimated screening uptake among women aged 30-49 in Kenya is 16%, far from the WHO's target of 70% twice-lifetime screening of women ages 35-45 by 2030. Additionally, there is extremely low fidelity of SVA-SAT; up to 70% of screen-positive women do not receive treatment. The low treatment rate has been attributed to programmatic and logistical challenges of implementing cryotherapy in low-resource settings (e.g., supply chain difficulties of refrigerant gas, equipment failure, and treatment duration >10 min).

Thermal ablation (TA), was recommended by the WHO in 2019 and is an effective and safe alternative to cryotherapy. The portable device can be charged with electricity, batteries or solar panels, which is ideal for rural settings. However, wide dissemination and adoption have been challenged by undefined drivers of successful implementation.

Our objective is to develop and evaluate a locally contextualized dissemination and implementation (D&I) strategy for SVA-SAT with TA (SVA-SAT+TA) to inform national scale-up. Our hypothesis is that TA will enhance the feasibility, adoption, and sustainability of CC prevention services via SVA-SAT, compared to cryotherapy.

Our multidisciplinary team proposes a five-year prospective, stepped-wedge, randomized trial to implement SVA-SAT+TA in ten reproductive health (RH) clinics in central Kenya. In Aim 1, we will collaborate with multi-level (clinic, county, national) stakeholders to develop a sustainable D&I strategy to introduce SVA-SAT+TA that effectively accounts for the heterogeneity of the client, provider, and system inputs. In Aim 2, we will deliver and rigorously evaluate the SVA-SAT+TA intervention at scale in public RH clinics in Kenya, using the RE-AIM (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) framework. In Aim 3, we will compare the cost, cost-effectiveness, and budget impact of SVA-SAT+TA to SVA-SAT using cryotherapy.

Together, the results from this project will improve wider implementation and scale-up of an evidence-based intervention, SVA-SAT+TA, and provide the necessary evidence to guide policy and serve as a model for CC prevention in the LMICs context.

University Of Washington

TO IDENTIFY CANCER RISKS AND RISK REDUCTION STRATEGIES, TO IDENTIFY FACTORS THAT CAUSE CANCER IN HUMANS, AND TO DISCOVER AND DEVELOP MECHANISMS FOR CANCER PREVENTION AND PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS IN HUMANS. RESEARCH PROGRAMS INCLUDE: (1) CHEMICAL, PHYSICAL AND MOLECULAR CARCINOGENESIS, (2) SCREENING, EARLY DETECTION AND RISK ASSESSMENT, INCLUDING BIOMARKER DISCOVERY, DEVELOPMENT AND VALIDATION, (3) EPIDEMIOLOGY, (4) NUTRITION AND BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPONENTS, (5) IMMUNOLOGY AND VACCINES, (6) FIELD STUDIES AND STATISTICS, (7) CANCER CHEMOPREVENTION AND INTERCEPTION, (8) PRE-CLINICAL AND CLINICAL AGENT DEVELOPMENT, (9) ORGAN SITE STUDIES AND CLINICAL TRIALS, (10) HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE AND PATIENT-CENTERED OUTCOMES, AND (11) SUPPORTIVE CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF SYMPTOMS AND TOXICITIES. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO EXPAND AND IMPROVE THE SBIR PROGRAM, TO STIMULATE TECHNICAL INNOVATION, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING, TO INCREASE SMALL BUSINESS PARTICIPATION IN FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, AND TO FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY WOMEN AND SOCIALLY/ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE AND FOSTER SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CARRIED OUT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESS CONCERNS AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, TO INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING, AND FOSTER PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY WOMEN AND SOCIALLY/ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS.

93.393 - Cancer Cause and Prevention Research

National Cancer Institute (NCI) [HHS - NIH]

Seattle, Washington 981951016 United States

Single Zip Code

Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R01 Clinical Trial Optional) (PAR-19-274)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 430% from $572,554 to $3,033,113.