Using a Mobile Health Application for Data Collection in Esophageal Cancer Case-Control Studies in Africa

Abstract 38PurposePartners in the African Esophageal Cancer Consortium have recently begun several new case-control studies. Building on prior breast cancer research in the region using a mobile application programmed by Mobenzi, a South African–based mobile health company, we decided to leverage the technology to support the success of this combined effort. The aim of the current study was to coordinate research in multiple settings to evaluate known and new risk factors and their contributions to the African esophageal squamous cell carcinoma burden, as well as to use the mobile health platform with the same questions across sites when possible, but allow site-specific questions when needed to optimize data collection efficiency and accuracy.MethodsSubstantial effort was dedicated to harmonizing esophageal squamous cell carcinoma questionnaires used in high-risk areas around the world to capture a broad range of putative risk factors. Priority was placed on established or probable carcinogens that have ...