Nine updates for World Cancer Day

World Cancer Day — which will be observed today — was founded by the Union for International Cancer Control to raise awareness of cancer, as well as to emphasize the importance of prevention, detection and treatment.

The theme of this year’s observance — “We can. I can.” — is intended to show how everyone, either together or as individuals, can help reduce the global cancer burden.

“In the last year of the ‘We can. I can.’ campaign for World Cancer Day, we hope to inspire real action from governments and civil society in addressing the inequities in cancer diagnosis, treatment and care, which unfortunately largely affects the most vulnerable populations in every country,” Professor Sanchia Aranda, president of Union for International Cancer Control and CEO of Cancer Council Australia, said in a press release.

An estimated 8.8 million people worldwide die of cancer. Approximately 70% of those deaths occur in developing countries. Inequities also are apparent within certain populations in high- to middle-income countries, including immigrant, indigenous, refugee, rural and lower-socioeconomic populations.

Union for International Cancer Control officials are using World Cancer Day to highlight the global equity gap in access to early detection and treatment. They are calling for more equal access to help meet WHO targets of reducing premature deaths from cancer and noncommunicable diseases by 25% by 2025.

“Set in 2011, [WHO’s] target to cut premature noncommunicable disease deaths by 25% within 14 years is coming toward its halfway mark,” Aranda said. “We can meet the target, but more action than ever will be required.

“Inequality in access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care makes reducing premature deaths from cancer difficult,” Aranda added. “If we are committed to achieving this goal, we must act quickly and decisively to make access to cancer services more equal all around the world.”

In conjunction with World Cancer Day, HemOnc Today presents nine updates that provide insights into disparities in cancer diagnosis and treatment, as well as potential strategies to reduce the global cancer burden.

Cigarette smoking, excess body weight and alcohol intake represented the three most prevalent modifiable risk factors for cancer, according to an American Cancer Society study. Read more.
Provider and public education, research and advocacy should be the focus of multidisciplinary efforts to prevent and treat obesity, according to recommendations that emerged from an ASCO summit. The recommendations address issues providers face in their efforts to reduce the effects of obesity on morbidity — including cancer incidence — and mortality. Read more.
Stage at diagnosis — often affected by socioeconomic status, health insurance status, and access to screening and care — appeared to be a major driver of racial and ethnic disparities in cancer survival. Read more.
Alcohol use — whether light, moderate or heavy — increases cancer risk, and public health measures are needed to reduce high-risk alcohol consumption, according to an ASCO statement. Further, 5.5% of global cancer incidence and 5.8% of cancer deaths can be attributed to alcohol. Read more.
Less than a third of Americans understood that obesity and alcohol consumption are risk factors for cancer, according to a national Harris Poll survey commissioned by ASCO. Further, many Americans are not taking cancer preventive actions, and others held misconceptions about cancer risk. Read more.
The 13 cancers associated with overweight and obesity accounted for about 40% of cancer diagnoses in the United States in 2014, according to data from the CDC. Read more.
Replacing cigarettes with e-cigarettes during a decade-long period would result in 6.6 million fewer premature deaths, according to findings published in Tobacco Control. Read more.
Socioeconomic factors, such as lower education and median income, significantly influenced survival among patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Read more.
Four leading national cancer organizations have united in their mission to reduce the number of health disparities in the United States and to ensure all patients — regardless of social demographics and socioeconomic status — benefit from cancer research. Read more.