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Retinoblastoma AMCC

AMCC News December 2025

On December 2, 2025, the meeting of the French-speaking GCCA teams for the retinoblastoma program was held in Conakry, Guinea, the day before the start of the annual meeting of the African Francophone Ophthalmology Society (SAFO).

Representatives from 12 French-speaking African countries were present:
- AMCC (2): Laurence Desjardins, Karim Assani
- Ophthalmologists (23): Martial (Porto Novo), Sembela (Pointe Noire), Eric (Ndjamena), Nelly (Maroua), Caroline (Yaoundé), Elvis (Douala), Elien (Bangui), Rokia, Sandrine, and Noelle (Abidjan), Fatou and Aïchata (Bamako), Adam (Niamey), Jenny and Moïse (Kinshasa), Sandra, Junior, and Daudet (Lubumbashi), Joseph and Raihanatou (Dakar), Amouzou (Lomé), Camara and Thierno (Conakry).
- Pediatric oncologists (3): Fousseyni (Bamako), Aissata and Moustapha (Conakry).

This workshop on December 2 focused on patient care, early diagnosis, data collection, and publications.
At the end of the session, recommendations were issued for the year 2026.

On December 4, during the SAFO conference, a symposium on retinoblastoma took place for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Fatou Sylla and Laurence Desjardins moderated the session.

Nelly Fopoussi, Jenny Yanga, Joseph Ndiaye, and Adam Nouhou Diori presented the management of retinoblastoma in their respective departments and the beginnings of conservative treatment.

At the end of the session, a 6-year-old girl who had undergone enucleation in Bamako for retinoblastoma and was cured with a beautiful prosthesis came with her mother, who recounted her journey.

The room was full, and we had a lot of questions.

Pain palliative care AMCC

Wound care and healing

TRAINING IN WOUND CARE AND HEALING - PALLIATIVE CARE - BENIN 2025

A mission to BENIN took place from October 3 to 10, 2025, in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the coordinator of the national palliative care program, and the Beninese Association for Palliative Care (ABSP). It focused on training in wound healing and palliative care. It was preceded by an initial e-learning course on "wounds and healing": a free, low-bandwidth course on the UNFM website. The mission focused on strengthening the skills of Beninese caregivers through practical workshops that allowed them to deepen their knowledge through clinical cases and demonstrations of dressings, led by experts from France and Benin. The primary objective was to train trainers, and the participants, selected by members of the Ministry of Health, were primarily nurses with a master's degree in palliative care, doctors, and midwives. Close support was provided to palliative care units, with discussions on practical clinical situations selected by the participants, which proved very useful in supplementing the continuing education of future trainers.

For more information: AMCC 2025 mission report

Retinoblastoma AMCC

News from the AMCC RB Programme

Training in conservative treatments for retinoblastoma continues with two ophthalmologists from Angola who recently trained in Barcelona (Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Hospital) in Prof. Jaume Catala's department.

We would like to thank the Théa Foundation, which supports the AMCC in its training programmes and has produced a film documenting the AMCC's work on the retinoblastoma programme, which can be viewed by clicking on the image:

An ophthalmologist from northern Cameroon (Dr Nelly Fopoussi) has just completed her training in the management of retinoblastoma in Tel Aviv (Sheba Medical Centre) with Prof. Ido Didi Fabian.

To enable the trained teams to effectively treat children with retinoblastoma in their countries, a donation of equipment necessary for conservative treatment (diode laser, helmet and cryode) is already on its way to the teams in Luanda (Angola) and Cameroon.

The team in Abidjan, which had already been trained, has received its equipment, which was being repaired, and can now resume conservative treatment of children with RB instead of referring them to neighbouring countries.

In Ethiopia, Senegal and Niger, secondary centres are being set up to bring diagnostic and treatment centres as close as possible to patients and promote the earliest possible diagnosis.

The AMCC's RB programme has been the subject of an international publication, which can be viewed by clicking on the image:

Retinoblastoma AMCC

Retinoblastoma Workshop – LIBREVILLE – 3 December 2024

On December 3, 2024, the fourth workshop on retinoblastoma was held in Libreville with French-speaking teams, following Dakar in 2021, Kinshasa in 2022, and Abidjan in 2023.  The meeting was intended for French-speaking ophthalmologists from the AMCC network and took place at the Jeanne Ebori University Hospital in Libreville, on the eve of the SAFO congress.

RB experts from 11 French-speaking sub-Saharan African countries welcomed the achievements made with the support of the AMCC's RB program over the past five years.

The morning was filled with lively discussions.
We addressed issues relating to data collection and publications with the virtual presence of Dr. Bernard Asselain, a biostatistician who discussed the methodology for moving from data to publication. The AMCC strongly hopes that each team will be able to publish its results in the near future, as this is very important for national and international recognition and the support of potential sponsors.

The afternoon was devoted to early diagnosis programs, with a focus on the need to select affordable measures (in terms of both time and cost) and to repeat these measures every year. Informing parents via social media and the Know The Glow association will also be crucial.

The day ended with discussions about parent associations and all the other actions needed to ensure that local teams take ownership of the program and find the necessary support locally.

In a friendly atmosphere, the workshop was also an opportunity to share memorable moments with colleagues and long-time friends, and to meet and warmly welcome new players in the field of RB in French-speaking Africa.

This workshop was followed by the SAFO conference.

On Thursday afternoon, December 5, the retinoblastoma symposium took place, with this year's theme being conservative treatment experiences in bilateral forms of retinoblastoma. (Prof. Fatou Sylla, Prof. Joseph Ndiaye, Dr. Jenny Yanga, Dr. Adam Nouhou Diori, and Dr. Sandra Iye). The room was full, and there were several questions from the audience. Posters on the early signs of retinoblastoma were distributed to all conference participants.

Well done and thank you to all the speakers.

With our thanks to the organizers of SAFO – Libreville 2024.

Retinoblastoma AMCC

Retinoblastoma Workshop on June 4 and 5, 2024, prior to SIOP Africa in Johannesburg

The meeting was suggested by SIOP, organized and sponsored by AMCC (Karim Assani and Laurence Desjardins), Saint Judes (Susan Ybarra and Matt Wilson, with Nickhill Bhakta and Jacques Van Heerden also in attendance).

The visit by the ophthalmologists was also sponsored by the Eye Cancer Foundation.

The participation of ophthalmologists was remarkable, with English-, French-, and Portuguese-speaking teams (Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Niger, Cameroon, and Mozambique).

A parallel meeting of pediatric oncologists specializing in leukemia was held, with a joint morning session featuring lectures on implementation science given by specialists from St. Jude: Caitlyn Duffy and Sheena Mukkada.

Several round tables brought together ophthalmologists to discuss issues related to setting up a multidisciplinary team and the therapeutic management of retinoblastoma. A course on conservative treatment by South African ophthalmologist Dr. Hamzah Mustak took place on June 5, as well as a course by Prof. Guillermo Chantada on the ARIA guidelines.

Practical work on implementation was carried out in groups of five to six ophthalmologists, identifying obstacles, defining strategies and techniques for evaluating results, with each team deciding on the issue that it considered to be the most significant obstacle.

Overall, participants greatly enjoyed the two days and left determined to solve their local problems!

The AMCC took advantage of this trip to meet with Dr. Nelly Fopoussi Kouamo, an ophthalmologist from northern Cameroon who sees around 20 new cases of retinoblastoma each year, as well as pediatric oncologists from Angola. Both teams would like to collaborate with the AMCC in the future.

We also met with the WCC (World Child Cancer) team, which works to improve childhood cancer care and with whom we could carry out joint initiatives.

Pathology AMCC

Symposium on Childhood Cancer 19th Dakar Medical, Pharmaceutical, Dental, and Veterinary Conference: April 26–29, 2023

These events took place at Cheikh Anta Diop University (UCAD) in Dakar.

The Symposium on Childhood Cancer was held on April 26 (9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.). The symposium was moderated by Prof. S. Diop and Prof. M. Raphaël.

In the presence of Dr. Amy Fall-Ndao, Medical Director forSanofi's Global Health Unit.

The presentations were excellent on thefollowing topics:

  • Childhood cancers, the paradox of carcinogenesis, Prof. M. Gadji;
  • Contribution of immunolabeling, immunophenotyping, Prof. A. Sall;
  • Immunohistochemistry, Prof. C.Dial;
  • Immunotherapy in childhood cancers, Dr. M. NdellaDiouf;
  • Presentation of the Reference Center for the Diagnosis of Childhood Cancers (CRDCE), Prof. M. Raphaël.

Attached is the CRDCE presentation, which shows the implementation of the CRDCE, which began in July 2020, demonstrating the progress made in developing structures that enable better diagnosis of these tumors.

The outlook is to maintain the activities put in place by securing long-term funding, installing an immunohistochemistry machine in response to the increase in activity for this technique, which is still manual,developinga new tele-pathology site, probably located at UCAD or using a platform operating in other structures, the organization of training such as a new immunohistochemistry or cytometry workshop, cytogenetics, the extension to other Senegalese sites or other African countries of the use of this center to improve diagnostics, and finally, discussion around the establishment of university training (DU) courses related to this training.

Pain palliative care AMCC

2024 Palliative Care Program in Benin

In collaboration with the Beninese Association for Palliative Care (ABSP) and the National SP program led by Prof. Anthelme Agbodande, the October 2024 mission was organized with the AMCC delegation according to the following terms of reference:

- Training of healthcare professionals in palliative care in the departments of BORGOU and Atlantique;

- Social action: provision of food supplies by USPs to poor patients receiving palliative care;

- Participation in the 3rd Benin Palliative Care Congress in Cotonou.

For more information: AMCC 2024 mission report

Pain palliative care AMCC

AXEL KAHN AWARD 2023

Dr. Laure Copel, director of the AMCC's pain and palliative care program, was the winner of the second edition of the 2023 Axel Kahn Prize*, awarded for her work in making major contributions to the study of cancer-related pain and its management on the theme: Palliative medicine and support for cancer patients. An oncologist for 20 years, she has been Head of the Palliative Care Unit at the Diaconesses Croix Saint-Simon Hospital Group in Paris since 2014.

For the AMCC's Pain and Palliative Care Program, Dr. Laure COPEL is donating €25,000 to continue the program in French-speaking countries, particularly on the African continent.

*The end of 2023 marks a first: the "Pain and Cancer" program is launched to support research and innovation, with the unique feature of combining the Axel Kahn Prize and the call for projects "Fighting cancer-related pain".  It is estimated that one in two patients with or who have had cancer suffer from chronic pain and that 10 to 15% of patients treated experience intractable pain. Added to this are inequalities in care related to place of residence, stage of the disease, etc.

Retinoblastoma AMCC

AMCC Day – SAFO Congress 2023

The SAFO annual conference was held in Abidjan from December 6 to 8.

Before the start of the conference, a working day for the AMCC with the French-speaking teams was organized at the AZALAI hotel.

After Prof Fanny and Dr Desjardins welcomed the participants, the meeting addressed a variety of topics:

RB Program 2019-2028: where are we after almost five years -Prof Fousseyni Traoré 

9:35-9:45 a.m.: Raising awareness of early diagnosis of RB in Côte d’Ivoire: “30-second challenge” -Prof Rokia Bereté, Mr Jean Marie Kouamé

9:45-10:05 a.m.: Late diagnosis of RB: Research protocol on the causes of late diagnosis. -Prof Paule Aida Ndoye Roth

10:35-10:55 a.m.: RB in sub-Saharan Africa: strong involvement of ophthalmologists in multidisciplinary care as a key factor for success. -Prof Fatou Sylla

10:55-11:15 a.m.: Scientific publications on RB in sub-Saharan Africa: current situation, challenges, and opportunities. -Prof Vonor Kokou

11:15-11:45 a.m.: Continuation of the RB program after 2024: each country's vision for the next five years.Healthcare network, parents' association, relations with the Ministry of Health, early diagnosis, and publications -Dr Laurence Desjardins

11:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: Five-year RB project: the example of Senegal

2:00-2:45p.m.: Roundtable discussion on "the realities on the ground" of RB enucleation: reminder of its place in the treatment protocol and practical discussions. -Prof Paule Aida Ndoye

2:45-3:30p.m.: Conservative treatment of RB in sub-Saharan Africa: equipment, recruitment of eligible cases, and on-site support for new experts. What does the future hold for the AMCC network? -Dr Adam Diori

3:30-4:00 p.m.: Retino web conference: review since its implementation and thoughts on the future within the AMCC network. -Dr Laurence Desjardins

The next day began with the recording of 30-second challenge videos for the early diagnosis of retinoblastoma at the exhibition.

A prize for the best videos was awarded to the winners at the end of SAFO by Prof Fatou Sylla.

On December 6, a retinoblastoma symposium on healthcare networks was also held.

Retinoblastoma AMCC

ISOO 2022 – Leiden – Netherlands – June 17–21, 2022

Retinoblastoma Day on June 18, 2022.

During this conference dedicated to ocular tumors, Dr Fatou Sylla, Dr Paule Aida Ndoye Roth, and Dr Vera Essuman had abstracts accepted for presentation on retinoblastoma day.

With the support of the AMCC and ISOO, Fatou Sylla and Paule Aida Ndoye Roth were able to attend in person. Unfortunately, Vera Essuman was unable to obtain a visa.

Fatou Sylla and Paule Aida gave oral presentations in English on two occasions.

The ophthalmologists of the ISOO greatly appreciated this and decided to hold the first African ISOO congress in Nairobi in 2025.

Drs Didi Fabian and Kahaki Kimani began laying the groundwork for the organization.

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