Breast Biopsy Clinic
Breast Biopsy Clinic
Opening in November of 2022, we helped to establish a clinic dedicated to performing breast biopsies. In March of 2023, with collaboration with MGH, we started enrolling patients into a research study to better understand breast cancer in Uganda, specifically studying the impact of HIV on tumor cells.
A breast biopsy involves using a needle to extract a tissue sample of an abnormal suspicious mass or tumor of a breast.
The clinic focuses on breast tumors and will provides a diagnosis and tumor marker results within 10 days at no cost to the patient. The appropriate treatment of breast cancer is dependent of the histology and tumor markers, which is carried out by special staining pathology procedures. If successful, the clinic could be expanded to suspected lymphomas and sarcomas.
BACKGROUND:
Surveys and stories of the pathways patients take (at MRRH) to receive a tissue diagnosis reveal a disjoined and fragmented system with no formal pathways to diagnosis and appropriate care for patients with cancer. Patients commonly make many visits to various health care facilities, and as the public facilities cannot currently provide biopsy needles, patients will either go to private clinics (with an out of pocket expense (OPE) of about 60USD) or must purchase the needle for the procedure in a public setting (OPE of 23USD). A privately provided biopsy may not give tumor markers. This often requires another visit (OPE of 30USD).
Additional clinic visits mean further OPE for travel discouraging patients who live distant from the hospital: for example: 3 visits to Mbarara by a patient living in Ntungamo might cost a patient 20USD.
The biopsy clinic, integrated with the MUST pathology department, will provide a one stop facility for tissue diagnosis and tumor markers and will reduce the number of patient visits to outside health care facilities. We will provide appropriate instructions for referral to appropriate services following results and will be following up with patients to learn about the future pathways experienced.
Importantly, it will also provide a teaching platform for junior medical and advanced MMed (Pathology) students demonstrating the integration of differing specialties in delivering quality care.
Funding for the biopsy clinic has been secured by the UK charity Africa Cancer Action Trust. We will be fundraising for tumor marker stains.