World Cancer Day: CDC's Global Cancer Control Efforts

World Cancer Day: CDC's Global Cancer Control Efforts

World Cancer Day: CDC's Global Cancer Control Efforts

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent this bulletin at 02/04/2014 05:14 PM EST

On February 4, CDC joins people, organizations, and government agencies around the world in supporting the fight against cancer. This year,World Cancer Day advocates are focused on dispelling myths and promoting ways to reduce the global burden of cancer. Each year globally, about 14 million people learn they have cancer and 8 million people die from the disease.

Research suggests that one-third of cancer deaths can be prevented. Although proven ways to prevent cancer exist, these services and technologies are not widely available in low- and middle-income countries.

What CDC Is Doing

While most of CDC's cancer programs focus on the United States, CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC) is also working on projects to prevent and control cancer around the world. Global efforts help guide CDC's domestic programs by generating lessons learned from innovative strategies and new technologies being used to prevent cancer in other countries.

Many of CDC's global efforts focus on strengthening cervical cancer screening programs to have the biggest effect on reducing the global cancer burden. These programs are needed most in less developed regions, where almost nine out of 10 cervical cancer deaths occur.

Photo: In Vietnam, a former jail now houses a temporary oncology center for Hue Central Hospital.

About 528,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancerevery year, mostly in less developed regions. In Eastern and Middle Africa, cervical cancer is the most common cancer in women. Worldwide, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cause of cancer death in women.

Cervical cancer can be prevented with vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and regular screening tests and follow-up. Cervical cancer is on the decline in the United States, but the burden in many countries remains high, mostly due to a lack of screening and treatment services.

DCPC's global efforts focus on working with agencies like the World Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer to develop cancer registries, build capacity to screen more women for cervical cancer, improve cervical cancer screening programs, update and implement screening guidelines, develop a global cancer training course for public health professionals, and improve quality assurance, monitoring, and evaluation.