Gastrointestinal cancers are a leading cause of cancer deaths in Rwanda, in part because of a shortage of trained pathologists and tools to detect illness early. Pathologists at Stanford, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK) are teaming up to address this.

This initiative will use low-cost, cutting-edge technology to create an efficient workflow for diagnosing gastrointestinal cancers. By adapting a free, cloud-based AI tool called DeepLIIF, the project will enable pathologists to image patient samples on smartphones without needing expensive pathology imaging equipment. This approach will allow for remote consultations, enhance pathology training, and facilitate virtual tumor boards of experts to review complex cases at CHUK.

Alongside the digital pathology workflow, the project will establish an AI-powered biobank that collects and stores cancer tissue samples along with detailed clinical information. This biobank seeks to support cancer research and significantly improve patient care in Rwanda.

“We hope this research bridges the critical gap in access to digital pathology, enabling remote collaboration, enhancing pathology education, and significantly improving cancer diagnostic turnaround times in Rwanda,” Dr. Ndayisaba said.

The team hopes this project will enhance the accessibility of digital pathology, improve cancer diagnostic processes, and create a model that can be replicated in other low- and middle-income countries.

“The creation of a multimodal gastrointestinal cancer biobank at CHUK means that we aren’t just diagnosing patients today; we are establishing a rich data repository that will fuel future oncology research, improve diagnostic accuracy, and open doors for targeted therapies tailored specifically to African populations,” Lowe said.

On a broader scale, Lowe and Ndayisaba believe that the project contributes to the global fight against gastrointestinal malignancies by ensuring that African clinical and genetic data are represented in international oncology research, leading to more effective, equitable cancer treatment protocols.

The project will be co-led in Rwanda by Marie Claire Ndayisaba, MD, a Stanford African Scholar in Global Health and pathologist at CHUK.

“This project is a powerful exercise in global health equity and collaborative leadership,” Lowe said. “Equity is achieved when LMIC institutions are not merely passive recipients of technology, but active participants in advanced research and co-creators of AI solutions.”

Principal Investigators:

Alarice Lowe, MD, Associate Professor of Pathology at Stanford

Marie Claire Ndayisaba, MD MMed (Anat. Path.), Pathologist at The University Teaching Hospital of Kigali

Funder:

Stanford Center for Innovation in Global Health