|
Addressing the Global Challenge of Cancer
The global burden of cancer is large and projected to grow larger. Each year
there are approximately 10 million new cancer cases and more than 6 million
deaths worldwide. In many developed countries, including the United States,
cancer accounts for more than 20 percent of all deaths. In less developed
countries, all-site cancer rates are generally lower and cancer accounts for a
lower percentage of deaths. However, it is within developing countries that
cancer is projected to increase most rapidly over the next few decades. Unless
current trends change, cancer in developing countries is expected to represent
70 percent of the global cancer burden by the year 2030, a statistic driven by
demographic shifts toward more elderly populations and the movement toward more
Western lifestyles, most notably increased per capita tobacco consumption and
higher fat/lower fiber diets.
In developing countries, up to 25 percent of cancers are currently linked to infectious agents, including hepatitis viruses and human papillomavirus
(HPV), the leading cause of cervical cancer. Approximately 80 percent of the women who die from cervical cancer live in developing countries. Cancer prevention activities in these countries are scant, and screening and early detection programs are rare. Compounding this problem are limited financial resources available for cancer treatment and fewer highly trained and skilled providers of cancer care.
Read
more
Middle East Cancer Consortium Expanding in Size and Influence
With the addition of Turkey earlier this year, the Middle East Cancer
Consortium (MECC) continues to grow and influence cancer prevention and care in
its member countries. In June, Turkey, with a population of about 70 million,
officially joined MECC at a signing ceremony in Ankara, Turkey. Other member
countries include Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and the Palestinian Authority.
Turkey's addition brings the population represented by MECC to more than 160
million.
"Even in a part of the world where strife and violence are a regular
part of life, cancer is a reality that we must do our best to address," said
National Cancer Institute (NCI) Director Dr. Andrew C. von Eschenbach. "After
more than 8 years, MECC has proven that despite political and social
differences, people can come together and do the work of trying to improve other people's lives." Read
more
|
The NCI Cancer Bulletin is produced by the National Cancer Institute
(NCI). NCI, which was established in 1937, leads the national effort to
eliminate the suffering and death due to cancer. Through basic, clinical, and
population-based biomedical research and training, NCI conducts and supports
research that will lead to a future in which we can identify the environmental
and genetic causes of cancer, prevent cancer before it starts, identify cancers
that do develop at the earliest stage, eliminate cancers through innovative
treatment interventions, and biologically control those cancers that we cannot
eliminate so they become manageable, chronic diseases.
For more information on cancer, call 1-800-4-CANCER or visit
http://www.cancer.gov.
NCI Cancer Bulletin staff can be reached at
ncicancerbulletin@mail.nih.gov.
|
|