Providing molecular diagnosis and monitoring of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Abuja, Nigeria

The process of managing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) at the National Hospital Abuja was frustrating to both the clinicians and patients because the hospital did not have facilities for molecular diagnosis, which is a prerequisite to access imatinib mesylate through the Glivec International Patient Assistance Program (GIPAP; free access to imatinib) program. The testing was outsourced, and in addition to being very expensive, the results usually take months to get back to the hospital. In 2014, the International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation offered clinical CML preceptorship training to C.U. at the Hammersmith Hospital, London, United Kingdom, (Figure 1) under the mentorship of Jane Apperley. In 2016, the International Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Foundation extended the collaboration by providing a grant of $10 000 US dollars for the purchase of a GeneXpert polymerase chain reaction (PCR) machine for the diagnosis and monitoring of CML patients at the National Hospital Abuja. The Max Foundation provided a supplementary grant and donated 50 test kits to set up on-site PCR (GeneXpert) testing for molecular diagnosis and monitoring of CML patients (Figure 2)