Abstract :

Purpose: Despite the significant improvement in outcomes over the last few decades for the treatment of pediatric Burkitt lymphoma, outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa remain poor, with an approximately 50% survival rate. This disparity is likely multifactorial and significant work remains to improve these outcomes in low resource settings. As a first step in attempting to improve these disparate outcomes at our hospital, Bugando Medical Centre (BMC), in Mwanza, Tanzania, we aim to improve the understanding of the presentation, diagnosis, and outcomes with the current standard of care therapy at our site. We propose that a better understanding of the current nature of care for these patients at our site will allow for more informed future interventions aimed at improving outcomes.

Methods: Historical patient data were abstracted for pediatric patients with a diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma treated at BMC from 2016-2022. Patients’ initial presentations (e.g. site of disease), means of diagnosis, treatment completion rate, and outcomes (if available) were analyzed.

Results: Data were available on 109 patients with a diagnosis of Burkitt lymphoma between 2016-2022. Patients were on average 7.7 years old at presentation. We observed a 2:1 male to female ratio. We observed a significant proportion of abdominal disease with 58.7% presenting with abdominal disease (either alone or in combination) at initial diagnosis. There were 91% of patients who were deemed INCTR ‘high risk’ at diagnosis. There was a notable improvement in the percent of patients diagnosed with a biopsy with 46% in 2016 and 100% in 2022. Outcomes were poor but were difficult to assess with clarity due to a high rate of abandonment. Within those limitations, we observed a 1-year overall survival, of patients through 2021 with known outcomes, of 50.2% and a 1-year event free survival of 34.1% (including abandoment as an event).

Conclusion: Overall, in our patients we note epidemiology consistent with known data for endemic Burkitt lymphoma. Our patient population includes a significant proportion of abdominal and/or high-risk disease. We demonstrate overall poor outcomes with a high degree of treatment abandonment. These data suggest that improvement in treatment efficacy and treatment adherence may improve outcomes.

Citation Format: Hutton Chapman, Paul S. Ntemi, Jacqueline Kamanga, Judith Paschal, Heronima J. Kashaigili, Kristin Schroeder. Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Outcomes of Pediatric Burkitt Lymphoma Patients Treated at Bugando Medical Centre in Mwanza, Tanzania [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 11th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research; Closing the Research-to-Implementation Gap; 2023 Apr 4-6. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2023;32(6_Suppl):Abstract nr 33.