WHAT: Media briefing about the impact of infectious disease-related cancers in Uganda, sub-Saharan Africa and the developing world. The briefing will be held one day prior to a groundbreaking event to launch a state-of-the-art cancer outpatient and training center in Kampala.
East Africa has among the highest burdens of infection-related cancers worldwide and Uganda, with a population of 34 million, has among the highest cancer rates in the world, many of which are fueled by the HIV epidemic. To help address this public health crisis, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Wash., USA, and the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala are spearheading cutting-edge research of the role of infectious diseases, such as HIV and Epstein-Barr virus, on cancers such as Kaposi sarcoma and and the most common life-threatening malignancy among Ugandan children, Burkitt lymphoma.
On Oct. 4, 2011, the Hutchinson Center will break ground for future construction of The Uganda Cancer Institute/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Clinic and Training Institute. Based at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Kampala, and funded by United States Agency for International Development and the Hutchinson Center, the state-of-the-art facility will house the UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance, which emphasizes research and treatment of infection-related malignancies. The building also will facilitate the training of the next generation of cancer physician-scientists.
The UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance, the first international collaboration between U.S. and African cancer centers, aims to expand rapid diagnosis and effective treatment to dramatically improve Uganda’s cancer survival rates from 10 percent to 90 percent in the next three years.
WHEN: The media briefing will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, 2011
WHERE: The Kampala Serena Hotel
The Nile Room, First Floor
Kintu Road
Kampala, Uganda
WHO: Officials from both the Hutchinson Center and the Uganda Cancer Institute will hold a panel discussion and follow-up Q-and-A session to address the burden of infectious disease-related cancers in sub-Saharan Africa and discuss the plans for the new building.
Jackson Orem, M.D, director of the Uganda Cancer Institute and co-scientific director of the UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance; Lawrence Corey, M.D., president and director of Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center; Corey Casper, M.D., M.P.H., associate member of the Hutchinson Center’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division and co-scientific director of the UCI/Hutchinson Center Cancer Alliance; and Henry (Banks) Warden, executive director of the Hutchinson Center’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division.
CONTACT: Inquiries between Sept. 15 and Oct. 1 should go to:
Dean Forbes, Media Relations manager (Seattle, Wash., USA)
dforbes@fhcrc.org
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