Saving the Children Of Cameroon

Dr. Pierre Doumbé

The art of healing has been a lifelong passion for Dr. Pierre Doumbé, who in the course of his specialization in pediatrics encountered a void in the management of children with cancer in his native Cameroon. “These patients were almost abandoned,” recalls Doumbé. “That is what motivates my practice in medicine and, specifically, cancer medicine.”

Educated at the University of Limoges in France, with post-graduate training in pediatrics and pediatric oncology at the University of Montreal, Dr. Doumbé now heads the pediatric hematology oncology unit at the Mother and Child Center of the Chantal Biya Foundation. The Center is affiliated with the Yaoundé Central Hospital, a university-related teaching hospital where Dr. Doumbé first began his practice in 1983. He has been a member of the Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences there for 20 years.

The most prevalent pediatric cancers are Burkitt lymphoma (80%), leukemia, nephroblastoma and germ cell tumors. In addition to treating patients, he is concerned with the training of doctors and nurses, and with seeking international cooperation for assistance in overcoming the many challenges that face healthcare providers in this central African nation.

The incidence of pediatric cancer is increasing but, Dr. Doumbé notes, “the types of pediatric cancer in my country are typically easy to diagnose and easy to treat. Burkitt lymphoma can be diagnosed with fine needle aspiration, and cured with chemotherapy. Our recent successes in the treatment of Burkitt lymphoma have motivated other patients to continue treatment. These successes are also my greatest satisfaction.”

From 2001 to 2004, Dr. Doumbé participated in therapeutic trials on Burkitt lymphoma with the GFAOP (Groupe Francophone Africain d’Oncologie Pédiatrique), using a French Society of Pediatric Oncology protocol adapted to the local circumstances. Survival rates improved to 60%. Previous survival rates were never above 20%, he says. A new feasibility study now underway uses a less intensive protocol (FAGOP Cyclo-Burkitt 2005).

In a second therapeutic trial, Dr. Doumbé used the Nephro 2001 protocol (modified from an International Society of Pediatric Oncology protocol) to treat nephroblastoma. Only a few patients were included in this study.

After 25 years in medicine, Dr. Doumbé is beginning to see some improvement in the management of children with cancer. As head of the Pilot Center of GFAOP for projects in pediatric oncology in Africa, Dr. Doumbé is at the forefront of efforts to improve the outcome for children with cancer in that part of the world. It is a daunting task. “To be successful,” he says, “we must increase public education. There must be provision of infrastructure, increased training of personnel, provision of medication, improved facilities, and increased collaboration with international bodies and researchers.”

Dr. Doumbé says he sees about 60 children with cancer each year - which represents only about one-tenth of all incident cases. Poverty, the taboo associated with cancer, and the popularity of traditional healers all pose significant obstacles.

“We cannot solve the problem with national resources only; we have no capacity to deal with our cancer problem without the cooperation of the international community. If the international community can give us medication and help us to develop trained personnel - doctors and nurses - we can have better results.”

As his government struggles with other issues, local attitudes toward cancer also hamper efforts. “People think that cancer is a malediction,” says Dr. Doumbé. “We can overcome this misperception by demonstrating good results of cancer treatment in children. But for those who believe that the cancer is a treatable illness, who have no money to come to us for treatment, a diagnosis of cancer is still devastating. That is the reason we believe in international cooperation.”

In addition to his prolific international publications, Dr. Doumbé is active in several national organizations. He is a founding member of the National Committee for the Fight against Cancer in Cameroon and a member of several international societies, including INCTR.

Marcia Landskroener for INCTR