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In Africa, the majority of children who get cancer die from their disease. This happens in many cases because the patients do not get a correct diagnosis. Without a precise and correct diagnosis, these children cannot benefit from the newest curative treatments. To help prevent this from happening, Dr. Lutwama will develop and test a strategy to diagnose pediatric cancer correctly in a manner that is affordable, reliable, and within a shorter time frame in resource-limited settings.

Based on progress to date, Dr. Lubega was awarded new grants in 2016 and 2017 to fund additional years of this International Scholar award. A third of cancers in children in Africa are due to Burkitt's lymphoma. Burkitt's lymphoma seems to arise from the body's attempt to fight Epstein-Barr virus and malaria infections. This study measures infection-fighting proteins in children with and without Burkitt's lymphoma. The goal is to discover if these infection-fighting proteins in blood or saliva can be used as specific indicators of Burkitt's lymphoma. These proteins can be developed into clinical tests for early detection and monitoring treatment for children with cancer.