Haematopathology diagnosis: Role of multidisciplinary training workshops.

Abstract

Cancer is an increasingly-major health problem in developing countries and the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that 'if no action is taken, deaths from cancer in the developing world are forecast to grow to 6.7 million in 2015 and 8.9 million in 2030'. Accurate pathologic diagnosis is a key factor in proper management of cancers, yet it has been largely under-resourced with little attention paid to the upgrading of facilities or personnel development. Haematopathology, a complex discipline combining pathology and haematology, is particularly affected by these shortcomings. Multidisciplinary training workshops that focus on achievable, accessible and relatively-inexpensive methods and techniques are an important approach to improving the diagnosis of haematolymphoid neoplasms in resource-limited settings.