Institute of Global Health Innovation

By Imperial Medical Student, Aisha Chaudry

As part of my gap year placement, I was given the opportunity to be involved in the PROLIFICA study at the Medical Research Council Unit (MRC) in The Gambia.

PROLIFICA is an EC funded project investigating liver cancer, which arises because of cirrhosis (scarring) of the liver, a chronic condition that can stop the liver from functioning.

Having reached my halfway point of my time abroad, I have decided to write a report about my experience so far.

Whilst being at the MRC, I have been able to experience research in both a clinical and laboratory setting. On Mondays through to Wednesdays there are regular morning clinics held for patients who are enrolled onto the PROLIFICA study. Having spent my first few weeks at the clinic, I was able to see how the study is structured and functions on a daily basis. Blood samples are taken from patients who have a routine appointment, which are then collected by lab technicians. Aside from taking basic clinical measurements of patients, I spent time shadowing the doctors, observing ultrasounds and becoming familiar with the symptoms and signs of liver disease.

I have also spent some of my time on the paediatrics ward, where I have become familiar with other common diseases prevalent in Africa, such as Pneumonia. I gained knowledge in basic clinical skills such as analysing x-rays, listening for abnormal breath sounds and simple reflex tests. I anticipate that my clinical experience at the MRC has assisted in developing a skill set to prepare me for my own work at medical school.

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Read Liver cancer in the Gambia and what we are doing about it in full

By Professor Simon Taylor-Robinson and Professor Mark Thursz

The problem

Liver cancer is one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, with an estimated annual mortality rate of 500,000 with a survival rate of less than 5%.

Cirrhosis (scarring of the liver as a result of continuous, long-term liver damage) is the main risk factor for the development of liver cancer in developing countries, such as in West Africa, where viral hepatitis B is the major cause of cirrhosis.

Generally, late presentation of patients with liver cancer results in poor prognosis, due mainly to insufficient and lack of affordable screening tools for early tumour detection. In resource-poor settings, procedures such as ultrasounds are not available and population mass-screening is often not practicable.

Our solution

Since February 2011, we have been working on a five year translational clinical research project, funded by the European Union Frame work 7 (www.prolifica.eu). The aim of the project is to reduce the incidence of liver cancer in three West African countries – Gambia, Nigeria and Senegal, with a particular focus on hepatocellular carcinoma: (HCC), which is the most common cause of death in these countries. (more…)

Read Prevention of Liver Fibrosis and Cancer in Africa in full