International collaborations in cancer control and the Third International Cancer Control Congress (original) (raw)
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Journal Africain du Cancer / African Journal of Cancer, 2014
Introduction: In most low and middle income countries (LMICs), including the majority of African countries, cancer burden is increasing rapidly and poses enormous challenges to the health systems. This foresees the need for urgent action and the establishment of strategic partnerships, as well as mobilizing resources and coordinating efforts among counterparts for the development and strengthening of cancer control interventions. Methods: Here below we describe the collaborative activities between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organization African regional office (WHO AFRO) and other partners regarding the major projects of the IAEA's Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT) since its creation until the end of 2013. Results: National cancer control capacity has been assessed in 24 Member States within the WHO Africa region through integrated missions of PACT (imPACT Reviews); in addition, two countries have been elevated to PACT Model Demonstration Site (PMDS) status and are receiving the relevant expansion of needed radiotherapy; an e-learning project, the Virtual University Cancer Control network (VUCCnet), has been established and African health professionals have been sponsored in various educational activities and three regional and one sub-regional coordination meetings have taken place. Conclusions: The collaboration between IAEA/PACT and WHO AFRO stands out as a model for United Nations agencies as an effective collaboration for programmatic delivery to Member States.
Global Health Initiatives of the International Oncology Community
American Society of Clinical Oncology educational book. American Society of Clinical Oncology. Meeting, 2017
Cancer has become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where 60% of the world's total new cases are diagnosed. The challenge for effective control of cancer is multifaceted. It mandates integration of effective cancer prevention, encouraging early detection, and utilization of resource-adapted therapeutic and supportive interventions. In the resource-constrained setting, it becomes challenging to deliver each service optimally, and efficient allocation of resources is the best way to improve the outcome. This concept was translated into action through development of resource-stratified guidelines, pioneered by the Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI), and later adopted by most oncology societies in an attempt to help physicians deliver the best possible care in a limited-resource setting. Improving outcome entails collaboration between key stakeholders, including the pharmaceutical industry, local and national health...
Global cancer control: responding to the growing burden, rising costs and inequalities in access
ESMO open, 2018
The cancer burden is rising globally, exerting significant strain on populations and health systems at all income levels. In May 2017, world governments made a commitment to further invest in cancer control as a public health priority, passing the World Health Assembly Resolution 70.12 on cancer prevention and control within an integrated approach. In this manuscript, the 2016 European Society for Medical Oncology Leadership Generation Programme participants propose a strategic framework that is in line with the 2017 WHO Cancer Resolution and consistent with the principle of universal health coverage, which ensures access to optimal cancer care for all people because health is a basic human right. The time for action is now to reduce barriers and provide the highest possible quality cancer care to everyone regardless of circumstance, precondition or geographic location. The national actions and the policy recommendations in this paper set forth the vision of its authors for the futu...
Cancer in the world: a call for international collaboration
Salud Pública de México, 2009
Cancer in the world Artículo especiAl C ancer is a major health problem in the world. 1-3 Since the start of the 21 st century, cancer killed more people than died in World War II. This year, it is expected that there will be 12 million new cancer cases diagnosed and close to 8 million will die of cancer. This year it is expected that 1.4 million people will die from lung cancer with 866 000 from stomach cancer, 653 000 from liver cancer, 677 000 from colon cancer and over half a million, 548 000 deaths will be due to breast cancer. Today, a new breast cancer case in diagnosed in the world approximately every 25 seconds. It is estimated that by the year 2030, 12 million people will die each year if we do not act today and improve cancer control. At the same time our knowledge about cancer has never been greater. These statistics are a call for action. International collaboration across all sectors is needed to improve cancer control and reverse the trend. Cancer arises from a change in one single cell and that change may be started by external agents and inherited genetic factors. Today, it is known that tobacco is the single most important external agent causing cancer. 4 Almost 70% of all deaths in the world from cancer occur in the low-and middle-income countries. 1 It is expected that 43% of cancer deaths be due to tobacco, poor diet, and infection. While over 40% of all cancers in the Western world are due to tobacco consumption and poor
Global cancer research initiative
Cancer Management and Research, 2010
Cancer is an increasing problem for low-and middle-income countries undergoing an epidemiologic transition from dominantly acute communicable disease to more frequent chronic disease with increased public health successes in the former domain. Progress against cancer in high-income countries has been modest and has come at enormous expense. There are several well-conceived global policy and planning initiatives which, with adequate political will, can favorably impact the growing global cancer challenges. Most financial resources for cancer, however, are spent on diagnosis and management of patients with disease in circumstances where specific knowledge about effective approaches is significantly limited, and the majority of interventions, other than surgery, are not cost-effective in resource-limited countries by global standards. In summary, how to intervene effectively on a global scale for the majority of citizens who develop cancer is poorly defined. In contrast to technology-transfer approaches, markedly increased clinical research activities are more likely to benefit cancer sufferers. In these contexts, a global cancer research initiative is proposed, and mechanisms for realizing such an effort are suggested.
World Health Organization cancer priorities in developing countries
Annals of Oncology, 2006
The burden of cancer in developing countries is growing and threatens to exact a heavy morbidity, mortality, and economic cost in these countries in the next 20 years. The unfolding global public health dimensions of the cancer pandemic demand a widespread effective international response. The good news is that the majority of cancers in developing countries are preventable, and the efficacy of treatment can be improved with early detection. Currently, the knowledge exists to implement sound, evidence-based practices in cancer prevention, screening/early detection, treatment, and palliation. It is estimated that the information at hand could prevent up to one-third of new cancers and increase survival for another one-third of cancers detected at an early stage. To achieve this, knowledge must be translated into action. To facilitate the call to action in the fight against cancer, the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a comprehensive approach to cancer control. The WHO has produced many valuable guidelines and resources for the effective implementation of national cancer control programs. Several milestones in the WHO's efforts include the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control, and global strategies for diet and exercise, reproductive health, and cervical cancer. This review examines the strategies and approaches that have successfully resulted into global action to confront the rising global burden of cancer in the developing world.
2019
Key Message 1: Cancer Burden Has A Broad Social, Economic, And Political Impact. New cancer cases and cancer deaths are anticipated to at least double in Africa by 2030, reaching 1.28 million new cancer cases and 970,000 cancer deaths[1]. Cancer takes a substantial toll on the financial security, quality of life and the future well-being of patients and their families. In African culture, burden on families is particularly great, as family members help pay illness costs. Additionally, mothers of children affected with pediatric cancers carry a disproportionate share of caretaking burden, and face challenges from missing work to transportation costs and marital instability. Key Message 2: Research Is Essential To Effective And Cost-Efficient Cancer Control. Research forms the bedrock of health care policy in many international countries and translating research into health practice has been shown to improve patient safety and treatment outcomes[26]. In international settings, locally relevant cancer research has led to substantial cost savings in care. Allocating cancer research funding with respect to the societal burden each type of cancer imposes leads to high impact clinical and policy interventions[27]. Key Message 3: Collaboration Provides Opportunities to Gain Cutting Edge Knowledge. Collaboration with other African governments and regional or international bodies provides opportunities for mentorship and information exchange. In 2015, 473
Priorities for cancer research in low- and middle-income countries: a global perspective
Nature Medicine
MICs face a double burden of disease, with non-communicable diseases, including cancer, rising rapidly alongside continued morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases. While age-standardized rates of cancer have changed only marginally, the absolute number of patients diagnosed with cancer annually in LMICs is growing rapidly 1,2. By 2030, approximately three-quarters of all cancer deaths will occur in LMICs, with one in eight people experiencing a cancer diagnosis in their lifetime 3. Most of the increase in the global cancer burden in the next 50 years will come from LMICs (400% in low-income countries, 168% in middle-income countries and 53% in HICs) 4 due to rising population, increasing life expectancy, growing urbanization and lifestyle changes. Although age-standardized incidence rates for cancer are lower in LMICs than in HICs, the mortality:incidence ratio is higher in LMICs 1,2. Efforts for cancer control in LMICs should aim to reduce exposure to common modifiable risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol and obesity, improve access to care and improve outcomes for those diagnosed 5. While ongoing efforts focus predominantly on expansion and strengthening of treatment facilities, relatively less attention is paid to generating country-specific evidence for effective prevention, early detection, access, survivorship and palliation, with an emphasis on quality and value. Cancer research is heavily skewed toward HICs, with disproportionately less research conducted in, and relevant to, the problems of LMICs 6,7. For example, of all phase 3 trials of anti-cancer therapies conducted worldwide between 2014 and 2017, only 8% were initiated and conducted in LMICs, despite increasing recognition that trial results are not necessarily generalizable across populations and country contexts 7-9. The gross imbalance in cancer knowledge generation and application through the global research enterprise raises several issues. First, research and innovation conducted in HICs fail to adequately address certain cancers that are prevalent in LMICs, for example, oral, esophagogastric, hepatobiliary and cervical cancers 7,10. Second, cancer-control strategies that are effective in HICs are often not applicable to LMICs as a result of differences in disease characteristics, health systems capacities, sociocultural factors, treatment-completion rates, lack of availability of medicines, and pharmacokinetic and biological variation associated with ethnicity. There are also within-region and racial differences in disease incidence as well as cancer characteristics owing to differences in genetics and environmental exposures 11 (for example, higher proportion of triple-negative breast cancer, EGFR-mutated lung cancer and microsatellite instability-high colorectal cancer in certain groups). Third, health systems research is highly context-specific, as resources, infrastructure and sociocultural values vary widely between HICs and LMICs and even within countries. Finally, the high costs of many interventions developed in HICs render them non-implementable in LMICs. In addition to reducing cancer-specific mortality, cancer research also brings other benefits such as improved quality of clinical care,