domingo, 9 de febrero de 2014

World Cancer Day

the word cancer and definition plus a globe and a stethoscope

CDC joins people, organizations, and government agencies around the world in supporting the fight against cancer. Each year, 7.6 million people die from cancer worldwide; many of these deaths can be prevented

CDC information: Breast and ovarian cancer and family health history

CDC information: Genomics and colorectal cancer awareness

Common cancer myths and misconceptions from the National Cancer Institute include misconceptions about family history and cancer

Realizing the promise of cancer predisposition genes

Rahman N Nature 2014 Jan 15

Did you know? There are hundreds of genes associated with increased risks of different cancers? To find out more, visit the HuGE Navigator phenopedia and search for information on specific cancers

ASCO issues new recommendations for family history taking in oncology setting

, ASCO, Feb 4

World Cancer Day

On February 4, CDC joins people, organizations, and government agencies around the world in supporting the fight against cancer. Each year, about 8 million people die from cancer worldwide; many of these deaths can be prevented.

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.

A Global Concern

Today, more than twice as many people die from cancer than from AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined. The World Health Organization (WHO) projects that without immediate action, the global number of deaths from cancer will increase by nearly 80% by 2030, with most occurring in low- and middle-income countries.

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.

Cancer Is a Global Priority

Photo from CDC staff working in Bolivia

At the 2011 United Nations Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases, leaders from more than 120 countries declared non-communicable diseases, including cancer, a global priority and committed to taking action to address them. The WHO has since taken the lead in developing a global monitoring framework

[PDF-101KB]

for non-communicable diseases. This framework includes the following indicators—

New cancer cases and deaths.
Cervical cancer screening.
Vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC),

In 2012, the most commonly diagnosed cancers worldwide were—

Lung cancer (13% of all cancers diagnosed, 1.8 million people).
Breast cancer (12% of all cancers diagnosed, 1.7 million people).
Colorectal cancer (10% of all cancers diagnosed, 1.4 million people).

In 2012, the most common causes of cancer death worldwide were—

Lung cancer (19% of all cancer deaths, 1.6 million people).
Liver cancer (9% of all cancer deaths, 800,000 people).
Stomach cancer (9% of all cancer deaths, 700,000 people).

What CDC Is Doing

While most of CDC's cancer programs focus on the United States, CDC's Division of Cancer Prevention and Control 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.

Chart showing the rates of cervical cancer cases and deaths for Sub-Saharan Africa and North America.

About 528,000 women are diagnosed withcervical cancer every 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.

For example, in Sub-Saharan Africa, about 35 cervical cancer cases are diagnosed for every 100,000 women, compared with only about 7 new cases for every 100,000 women in North America. About 23 women per 100,000 die from cervical cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa, compared to about 3 per 100,000 in North America.

DCPC's Global Activities

DCPC's global efforts, highlighted on the map below, focus on working with agencies like WHO, the American Cancer Society, and IARC 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.

Some of these global activities are highlighted below.

Country Projects

Bolivia

Providing technical assistance for operating cancer registries and screening women for cervical cancer.
Supporting the Bolivian Ministry of Health to build capacity for cervical cancer screening through visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) and for cervical cancer diagnosis through colposcopy.

Botswana

Providing support to cervical cancer screening programs through the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Initiative.

Brazil

Analyzing a national primary care physician survey developed with CDC’s assistance to assess screening and prevention practices and help build screening capacity.

Colombia

Testing a tool to assess the cost of operating cancer registries.

India

Testing a tool to assess the cost of operating cancer registries.

Kenya

Working with the Kenya Medical Research Institute to evaluate knowledge, attitudes, and acceptability about cervical cancer screening, treatment, and palliative care.
Developing communication, education, and training efforts associated with cervical cancer prevention and control services.
Testing a tool to assess the cost of operating the Nairobi and Eldoret cancer registries.

Tanzania

Providing support to cervical cancer screening programs through the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Initiative.

Thailand

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

Strengthening the national cervical cancer screening program and cancer registries by assessing quality and improving data use for monitoring and evaluation.
Conducting an HPV testing demonstration project and helping to train health care providers.
Helping to disseminate surveillance data related to Pap and VIA testing.

Trinidad and Tobago

Providing technical assistance for operating cancer registries and screening women for cervical cancer.

Vietnam

Working with IARC to provide technical assistance to establish and strengthen cancer registries.

Zambia

Providing support to cervical cancer screening programs through the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon Initiative.

Featured Programs

Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon: This global initiative builds on health care programs in Sub-Saharan Africa to reduce deaths from breast and cervical cancer. CDC helps monitor and evaluate this initiative, and works to promote sustainability of the activities in Zambia, Botswana, and Tanzania. As part of this initiative, CDC recently received a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to develop global standards and tools for monitoring and evaluating cervical cancer programs in low- and middle-income countries.
Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (GICR): CDC, IARC, the Union for International Cancer Control, and other organizations created GICR to provide training, support, and infrastructure to regional networks for cancer registries. This work will help countries produce reliable information on the burden of cancer so they can develop and implement effective cancer control policies.
Latin American and Caribbean Cervical Cancer Initiative: CDC is working with the Pan-American Health Organization, the American Cancer Society, the Network for Latin American National Cancer Institutes (RINC), and the National Cancer Institute to increase access to high-quality cervical cancer screening and treatment in the region. Key strategies include working with countries to develop evidence-based cancer screening programs, and training health care providers to screen for cervical cancer using low-cost technologies. Activities focus on helping countries implement the new WHO cervical cancer screening guidelines and on developing monitoring and evaluation tools for program managers.
Pacific Islands Screening Project: CDC is exploring different ways to screen for cervical cancer in the United States Affiliated Pacific Islands, since many areas lack screening services and have limited resources to process Pap tests. Alternative methods such as VIA may allow women to be screened as recommended.