PATHOLOGY CORE Tissue diagnosis is essential for cancer care and research, and addressing HIV-related malignancies in Malawi and South Africa will be critically dependent on ensuring reliable access to robust pathology services. Achieving this requires strategic and multidisciplinary coordination of human and material resources for diagnostic pathology over time, as well as across geographic sites and scientific projects. This is a difficult undertaking even in high-income countries, and logistical challenges are significantly amplified in low- and middle-income countries. Initiatives to improve cancer care and research in SSA require accurate, cost- effective, and data-driven approaches to tissue acquisition and diagnosis, and strong regional pathology networks are an essential foundation to ultimately improve patient outcomes and conduct impactful research. Recognizing this, the UNC-Malawi-South Africa Cancer Consortium (UMSACC) will establish a shared- resource Pathology Core. The core will comprise of investigators from UNC Chapel Hill, UNC Project-Malawi and Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi, the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and Stellenbosch University, South Africa. The Pathology core will provide advanced and comprehensive diagnostic support to the multi-institutional research projects in this proposal through development of a central pathology review process, establish working groups within specific disease areas to actively identify regional best practices, and train the next generation of pathologists.
PATHOLOGY CORE The growing focus on personalized medicine requires advanced infrastructure and professional skills, as well as close collaboration between clinicians and pathologists to ensure the accurate prognostication of patients and the selection of targeted therapies for HIV-associated malignancies. This Pathology Core will provide comprehensive diagnostic support to the proposed multi-institutional research projects, build a regional network for high-quality diagnostic services, and establish systems for pathology training and education.
