A three-paper series published this week in The Lancet gives details on the state of breast and cervical cancer in the developing world. Although treatable and preventable, the majority of deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.
Each year, 800,000 women die of breast and cervical cancer.
Where a woman lives plays a large part in whether she will survive the disease.
A concerning 9 out of 10 cervical cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
Of course, certain high-cost preventive and treatment measures, such as mammography and radiotherapy, are not available in these regions; but this is not the whole story.
As the papers in The Lancet argue this week, there are cost-effective, proven interventions that could save hundreds of thousands of lives per year.
These include cervical screening and human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination for young girls. Neither of these interventions needs highly trained medical staff or specialist centers.
The series, launched at the 2016 World Cancer Congress in Paris, France, argues that more must be done by the international community to implement these and other interventions more widely.
Predictions made in The Lancet‘s special edition are bleak. They estimate that the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer across the globe will almost double – from 1.7 million last year to
Similarly disturbing, cervical cancer is predicted to increase by 25 percent to over 700,000 by 2030. These increases will be predominantly in LMICs.
“There is a widespread misconception that breast and cervical cancers are too difficult and expensive to prevent and treat, particularly in resource-poor countries where the burden of these diseases is highest. But nothing could be further from the truth,” notes series lead author Prof. Ophira Ginsburg.
“This series clearly shows that high-impact, cost-effective interventions exist for countries at all stages of development. Recent estimates suggest that a basic cancer control package could be introduced in low- and middle-income countries for as little as $1.72 per person – equivalent to just 3 percent of current health spending in these countries.”
Prof. Ophira Ginsburg
As it stands, LMICs only receive 5 percent of global funding for cancer, which has compounded the problem. The authors call for an international push, similar to the one that led to huge improvements in maternal health. This argument makes a great deal of sense when the figures are examined. Currently, cervical and breast cancer kills almost three times as many women each year than complications of pregnancy and childbirth.
Source: Medical News Today
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