Summary & Key Points
"IeDEA (International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS), or "International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS," is an international research consortium established in 2006 by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It brings together 10 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, and Togo."
Bringing together 10 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Togo), IeDEA (International epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS) or “International Epidemiologic Databases to Evaluate AIDS” is an international research consortium created in 2006 by the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Its goal is to provide a rich resource of diverse HIV data on a global scale.
IeDEA’s mission is to collect observational data representing more than 2.2 million people living with HIV or at risk; data provided by clinical centers and research groups in 44 countries. These data are organized into 7 geographic regions and coordinated by centers for Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Central, East, Southern and West Africa, as well as North America.
In West Africa, IeDEA’s objectives are to identify individual and structural barriers throughout the care continuum for people living with HIV (PLHIV), from HIV testing to retention in care and viral suppression; to assess the impact of new preventive approaches aimed at reducing AIDS-related morbidity, particularly comorbidities such as tuberculosis and cervical cancer; and to determine the burden of non-communicable diseases and assess their interaction with HIV infection in PLHIV.
Indeed, invasive cervical cancer remains one of the most common cancers in West Africa. Unfortunately, women living with HIV are six times more likely to develop cervical cancer compared to HIV-negative women. Today, thanks to advances in research, several prevention methods exist: HPV vaccination, screening and treatment of precancerous lesions.
In Côte d’Ivoire, a screening program has been in place since 2010 and targets both HIV-negative and HIV-positive women starting at age 25. This program uses VIA as a screening method and cryotherapy for treatment. To address the drawbacks associated with cryotherapy, Côte d’Ivoire has adopted the WHO recommendation to replace cryotherapy with thermoablation.
Thus, as part of the 2021–2026 cycle, IeDEA is conducting two studies in West Africa: 1) CASCADE, whose main objective is to assess the impact of implementing HPV testing and thermoablation on the demand for screening and access to treatment for precancerous cervical cancer lesions. 2) IPHOTHER. Conducted in Abidjan and Abobo-Dioulasso (Burkina Faso), this study aims to estimate the incidence and persistence of oncogenic HPV infections and precancerous cervical lesions according to HIV status at 36 months and associated factors after treatment with thermoablation/RAD.
To review the progress of the CASCADE and IPHOTHER studies, discuss the valorization plan for these projects, and outline next steps, the Steering Committee for Cancer Studies in West Africa met on October 10, 2024, at the headquarters of the National Cancer Control Program (PNLCa) in Abidjan. The meeting was attended by a dozen participants, including the principal investigator, Dr. Antoine JAQUET (from the University of Bordeaux), and the IPHOTHER project coordinator in Burkina Faso via Zoom.
During this meeting, the group dynamics were positive, with active participation from committee members. Various presentations were made, including those by the project leader and social science researchers (qualitative component) on the progress and implementation of the different projects. Through relevant exchanges and contributions, several recommendations were made to improve the quality of results from the CASCADE and IPHOTHER projects.
These include, among other things, improving follow-up of women in the HIV-negative women’s cohort (SUCCESS cohort) to limit attrition at 12 months post-inclusion, promptly valorizing the quantitative data collected on both CASCADE and IPHOTHER (cohort of women living with HIV or AIMACC cohort), and continuing qualitative data collection on IPHOTHER for one more month before closure.
Ultimately, the results of these studies will provide evidence to guide decision-making aimed at improving the performance of the secondary prevention program and better long-term follow-up of women treated with thermoablation.
