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Annual World Cancer Leaders' Summit kicked off, on 3rd December

  • 04 December 2014
  • 12:04
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Annual World Cancer Leaders' Summit kicked off, on 3rd December
The 2014 World Cancer Congress kicked off, on Wednesday 3rd December, with the annual World Leaders' Summit. The topic was 'the Economic Case for Cancer Control' with more than 260 key decision makers from all over the world atten...

According to UICC, the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit is an important annual high-level policy meeting dedicated exclusively to furthering global cancer control. The event brings together key decision makers from around the world and encourages timely debate on emerging issues related to cancer. It provides an important forum to secure a coordinated, multileveled global response to address the spiraling cancer epidemic.

Key objectives of the World Cancer Leaders’ Summit include:

  • Raising awareness among leading decision makers to ensure cancer is a global health priority.
  • Providing a forum to exchange information and innovative ideas on how to reverse the cancer epidemic and ensure a sustainable response. 
  • Defining compelling messages to support the global call to action against cancer.
  • Creating a force which galvanizes politicians and policy makers and increases cancer’s visibility on the international public health agenda.

 

The partners in this year's summit are: International Agency for Research on Cancer, the International Atomic Energy Agency and WHO.

The 2014 World Cancer Congress kicked off, on Wednesday 3rd December, with the annual World Leaders' Summit. The topic was 'the Economic Case for Cancer Control' with more than 260 key decision makers from all over the world attending. The topic which is increasingly relevant to us all as we face a growing burden of cancer across much of the developing world. Too often, cancer is perceived to be a significant cost, whilst the economic and social benefits of addressing the disease are poorly understood and recognized. To complement the Summit, UICC will be launching a new publication on the topic.

 

The Summit began with an engaging welcome by Felicia Knaul, a UICC board member and Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. She introduced the topic with the premise that the economics of cancer is much more than about money- it is also very much about human life. Professor Knaul introduced the Secretary of the Victorian Department of Health, Dr Pradeep Philip. Stating that cancer alone makes up 5-7% of the cost of health care in high income countries, Dr Philip stressed the need to reconceptualise the economics of health and health care from the perspective of social determinants of health rather than limiting it to institutional and funding activity. Dr Etienne Krug, the Director, Department for Management of NCDs, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention at WHO, then took the stage to discuss the compelling case for the economic burden of cancer. Presenting many facts and figures, Dr Krug mentioned that there are 14 million new cases of cancer each year and 8.2 million deaths, making up 22% of the global NCD deaths.  The economic cost of cancer, he stated, is over one trillion dollars.

New guidance from WHO on prevention and controlling cervical cancer was launched in the proclaimed summit on 3 December 2014.  Cervical cancer rates have fallen in much of the developed world during the past 30 years, largely due to screening and treatment programs. During the same time, however, rates in most developing countries have risen or remain unchanged, often due to limited access to health services, lack of awareness and absence of screening and treatment programs. Rural and poorer women living in developed countries are at increased risk of invasive cervical cancer. The new guidance highlights the importance of addressing gender discrimination and other inequities in relation to a range of other social factors (such as wealth, class, education, religion and ethnicity), in the design of health policies and programs.

The main elements in the new guidance are:

Vaccinate 9 to 13-year-old girls with two doses of HPV vaccine to prevent infection with the Human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus responsible for most cases of cervical cancer. The reduced, 2-dose schedule has been shown to be as effective as the current 3-dose schedule. The change will make it easier to administer the vaccine. In addition, it reduces the cost, which is particularly important for low- and middle-income countries where national health budgets are constrained but where the need for HPV vaccine is the greatest. Today, girls in more than 55 countries are protected by routine administration of HPV vaccine. Encouragingly, a growing number of low- and middle-income countries are introducing HPV vaccine in the routine schedule, with support from the GAVI Alliance.

Use HPV tests to screen women for cervical cancer prevention. With HPV testing, the frequency of screening will decrease. Once a woman has been screened negative, she should not be rescreened for at least 5 years, but should be rescreened within 10. This represents a major cost saving for health systems, in comparison with other types of tests.

Communicate more widely. Instead of focusing mostly on encouraging the screening of women aged over 29, the guide recommends communicating with a wider audience: adolescents, parents, educators, leaders and people working at all levels of the health system, to reach women throughout their lives.

Dr Nathalie Broutet, a leading WHO expert on cervical cancer prevention and control, says: “WHO’s updated cervical cancer guidance can be the difference between life and death for girls and women worldwide. There are no magic bullets, but the combination of more effective and affordable tools to prevent and treat cervical cancer will help release the strain on stretched health budgets, especially in low-income countries, and contribute drastically to the elimination of cervical cancer.”

An estimated one million-plus women worldwide are currently living with cervical cancer. Many have no access to health services for prevention, curative treatment or palliative care.

 The guidelines also show how cervical prevention and control can be integrated into existing health care delivery systems, including for family planning, postpartum care and HIV/AIDS. The delivery of vaccinations to adolescents for example, opens the door to reaching them with additional health information, sexual education and advice about healthy life styles.

A global opportunity to improve women’s health: Implementing cervical cancer prevention and control programs supports the UN Secretary-General’s 2010 Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. Cervical cancer was identified in the 2011 Political Declaration of the High-level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases.

 

 

News sources: WHO, UICC, WCC

 

Dr. Shima Naghavi, Director of International Affairs

 

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