BackgroundRwanda has made significant strides in improving the health of its people, including increasing access to and use of family planning. Contraceptive use has increased from 17% to 53% in just one decade, from 2005 to 2015.MethodsThe data consist of 13 in-depth interviews conducted with family planning program experts in Rwanda to better understand the mechanisms for success, elucidate remaining challenges, speculate on the future of the program, and discuss potential applicability for translating aspects of the program in other settings.ResultsAll respondents first noted the positive aspects of government will, leadership, and management of the family planning program when asked to describe the reasons for success. The challenges that loomed the largest for the program were service accessibility for rural Rwandans, adolescent access to and use of contraceptives, opposition from religious institutions, as well as inadequate human resources and funding. These challenges were openly acknowledged and are in the process of being addressed.ConclusionThe importance of government leadership and focus in the success of Rwanda’s family planning program was prominent. All positive aspects of the program are based upon the strong foundation the government has built and nurtured. Since innovation is welcomed and program evaluation is considered essential, the outlook for Rwanda’s family planning program is favorable. The issues that remain are common and persistent challenges for family planning programs. Other nations could learn tangible practices from Rwanda’s success and follow Rwanda’s efforts to mitigate the remaining challenges.

Background: Chronic myeloid leukemia is a blood cancer predominantly affecting older adults. Current treatments are initiated based on CML phase severity or progression. Although unable to cure, tyrosine kinase inhibitors are first-line due to their ability to increase survival and provide fewer side effects than other treatments. All therapies for CML present with limitations due to reasons including mutations, resistance, tolerability, and a lack of selective drug targeting. Liposomes are effective drug delivery systems, shown to increase drug half-life and allow for better targeting of drug substances at the intended site of drug action. The objective of the study was to evaluate the cellular uptake selectivity and specificity of CLENs (cell membrane lipid-extracted nanoliposomes) in CML cells. Methods: The CML cell line, K-562-GFP, was the chosen model for CML disease and drug selectivity studies. K-562-GFP cells were cultured and expanded In vitro for cellular extraction purposes. The K-562-GFP cell lipid extract (LE) was included to prepare K-562-GFP CLENs. Phase I of evaluation included physicochemical characterization and cellular uptake studies of preparations of CLENs including 0 to 40 mol% ofK-562-GFP LE content. Phase II of evaluation fixed the optimal LE content determined from the Phase I studies and varied the cholesterol content (0 to 40 mol%), to determine optimized K-562-GFP- CLENs for the target selectivity studies. The experimental cell lines used in the study represent other hematological diseases, RPMI 8226 (multiple myeloma), CCRF-CEM (acute lymphoblastic leukemia), and U937 (lymphoma). Conventional lipid ingredients used in the preparation of K-562-GFP-CLENs include DOPC, Cholesterol, and DPPE-Rhodamine (used as a fluorescence indicator) for fluorescence studies using a fluorescence microplate reader. Results: The results from the characterization studies revealed that the optimized composition and ratio for K-562-GFP CLENs was 85/10/5 (DOPC/Cholesterol/LE), the mean particle size was 292 +/-58 nm (n=5). The mean zeta potential was -15 +/- 9 mV (n=5). The average uptake for K-562-GFP-CLENs cells with 0% LE was 6822 +/- 50.5 and 21,767 +/- 3380 (p<0.05) with LE. The average uptake for ALL cells with 0% LE was 6,558 +/- 33 and with LE was 24,672 +/- 3107(p>0.05). The average uptake for CRL cells with 0% LE was 6780 +/- 73.67 and with LE was19312 +/- 1434 (p<0.05). The average uptake for MM cells with 0% LE was 6992 +/- 46.15 and with LE was 21,197 +/- 1910.0 (p<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference in the selective uptake of optimized preparations of K-562-GFP-CLENs by control ALL, CRL, and MM cells, when compared to the K-562-GFP (target) cell line (p>0.05). Conclusion: Further research comparing the uptake of various preparations of K-562-GFP-CLENs by normal, and other negative controls cell lines in local and external microenvironments, are currently underway. Citation Format: Sarah Boddie, Akrofi Akotiah, Dominique Walker, Robert Campbell. Selectivity of K-562-GFP-CLENs by CML: Development, characterization and in vitro analysis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2022; 2022 Apr 8-13. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(12_Suppl):Abstract nr 1747.

: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a blood cancer predominantly affecting older adult patients. According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 8,860 people will be diagnosed with CML in 2022. Treatments for CML have evolved with a focus on CML phase severity or progression. Overall, there have been some breakthrough treatment options for a high percentage of patients with CML. This is largely due to the discovery of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI); however, drug resistance continues to present a significant challenge in the management of CML disease. The use of interferon (IFN), antimetabolites, and bone marrow transplants provides alternative treatment options, but also presents limitations, including severe side effects, toxicity, and graft versus host disease. Nanomedicine has demonstrated benefits in terms of efficacy, often reducing or eliminating unwanted toxicities associated with the use of conventional drug agents. This review summarizes rational molecular targets of CML drugs and provides highlights of current FDA-approved agents for the treatment of CML. Additionally, this communication includes an overview of the limitations of conventional treatments and how nanomedicine has addressed challenges encountered during CML treatment.