Characterizing women living with HIV at cervical cancer diagnosis in Rwanda: Mentored Research under the Rwanda CASCADE Clinical Trials Site

Characterizing women living with HIV at cervical cancer diagnosis in Rwanda: Mentored Research under the Rwanda CASCADE Clinical Trials Site ABSTRACT This application is being submitted in response to the Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) identified as: NOT-CA-24-028 to mentor an early stage LMIC investigator (ESLI), Dr. Eulade Rugengamanzi, a Rwandan clinical oncologist who has demonstrated great interest in being developed as an independent investigator. Despite the widespread roll out of anti-retroviral thrapy (ART) under the Treat all era in most sub-Saharan African countries (SSA) where the HIV burden is the world’s heaviest, women living with HIV (WWH) continue to also bear a heavy burden of cervical cancer (CC). WWH still present with cervical cancer at advanced stage and little is known about their treatment outcomes and the impact of a cancer diagnosis on HIV care and vice versa as well as barriers to screening, early detection and diagnosis of cervical precancer and cancer. Findings from this study will provide actionable information about the impact of HIV on CC as well as the barriers to and facilitators of cervical-related care for WWH. This information has the potential to inform CC prevention and treatment policy and practice in Rwanda and elsewhere in SSA, in turn impacting the morbidity and mortality of CC in this high-risk population. This mentored research project will allow Dr. Rugengamanzi to develop quantitative and qualitative research skills that will provide a foundation for his development as an independent investigator conducting high-impact cancer research in Rwanda.