Newswise — FORT WASHINGTON, PA [February 1, 2018] - On Sunday February 4, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) will stand with cancer leaders, health professionals, and supporters across the world to acknowledge World Cancer Day. NCCN is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), which organizes World Cancer Day in order to raise awareness of the millions of people worldwide facing unequal access to cancer detection, treatment, and care services. NCCN joins the call for urgent action to reduce the rate of premature cancer deaths and to prioritize access to diagnostics and treatment.

“Everything we do is based on the principal that ‘where you live shouldn’t determine whether you live,’” explained Robert W. Carlson, MD, Chief Executive Officer, NCCN. “We’re proud to work with our 27 Member Institutions, and other organizations throughout the world, to create the most thorough and frequently updated clinical practice guidelines available in any area of medicine, which we then offer to clinicians everywhere for free. We translate our guidelines into several languages, adapt them for varying resource levels, and create companion guidelines specifically meant for helping patients and caretakers better understand their treatment options.”

NCCN’s global efforts include an ongoing collaboration with The American Cancer Society, The Clinton Health Access Initiative, and the African Cancer Coalition to create the NCCN Harmonized Guidelines™ for Sub-Saharan Africa. The project is part of a joint effort to combat the growing cancer burden in developing nations in Africa.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recognized cancer as the leading cause of global morbidity[1]. Even so, the global target of a 25% reduction in premature deaths from cancer and non-communicable diseases* (NCDs) by 2025 is possible. However, to deliver on this global commitment, the current inequities in risk factor exposure, and in access to screening, early detection and timely and appropriate treatment and care, must be addressed.

Today, there are an estimated 8.8 million deaths from cancer every year[2]. However, it is the low- to middle-income countries who are bearing the brunt, as approximately 70% of deaths occur in developing countries, which are the most ill-equipped to cope with the cancer burden[3]. The starkest area of inequity relates to childhood cancers – a specific group that the WHO underscored in its landmark 2017 Cancer Resolution -  with survival rates over 80% in high income countries and as low as 20% in low income countries[4].

High- to middle-income countries also experience inequities, particularly within certain populations, including the indigenous, immigrant, refugee, rural, and lower-socioeconomic populations.     

Professor Sanchia Aranda, President of UICC and CEO of Cancer Council Australia:

“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. In Australia, while we maintain some of the best cancer outcomes in the world, national data shows that the gap between those in the highest and lowest socioeconomic groups is continuing to widen over time. These overlooked voices must be more forcefully represented in our discussions this World Cancer Day.”

One acute example of a global access gap particularly affecting the underserved and underprivileged is access to radiotherapy. As one of the major methods of treatment for cancer, radiotherapy is recommended for 52% of cancer patients[5]. Glaringly, the gap between need and availability is highest in low- to middle-income countries; 90% of low- to middle-income country cancer patients lack access to radiotherapy[6]. Yet, issues of access to this critical treatment also cuts across many countries. In mainland China, there exists a gross shortage of radiotherapy facilities, with access varying widely from province to province. Depending on where you live in England§, patients can face significant variation – anywhere from 20% to 70% - in accessing Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy, an advanced form of radiotherapy treatment[7].

“We applaud the efforts of UICC to draw attention to inequities in cancer care,” said Dr. Carlson. “The more we learn where these disparities exist, the better we can address our collective responsibility to improve care for everyone.”

This World Cancer Day, UICC will launch a new initiative to improve access and deliver on the global target of a 25% reduction in cancer and NCD premature deaths by 2025. The details will be announced on February 4, at worldcancerday.org. Get involved, raise awareness, and join the conversation online with the hashtag #WorldCancerDay (or click-to-tweet here).

*Non-communicable - or chronic - diseases are diseases of long duration and generally slow progression. The four main types are cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes.

The global community has committed to reduce premature deaths from cancer and NCDs by 25% by 2025 as set out in the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases

The major modalities of treatment for cancer includes radiotherapy, surgery and medicines including chemotherapy

§The wide disparity in cancer services and patient outcomes depending on where you live is often called the Postcode Lottery

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About World Cancer Day 2018

World Cancer Day takes place every year on 4 February and is the single initiative under which the world can unite to raise the profile of cancer in a positive and inspiring way. Spearheaded by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), World Cancer Day takes place for the last year under the tagline ‘We can. I can.’, which explores how everyone – as a collective or as individuals – can do their part to reduce the global burden of cancer. Just as cancer affects everyone in different ways, everyone has the power to take action to reduce the impact that cancer has. World Cancer Day is a chance to reflect on what you can do, make a pledge and take action.

For more information, please visit: www.worldcancerday.org

About World Cancer Day activities and grassroots events

Local and international associations around the world are coming together to hold events dedicated to raising awareness and education about cancer, including the Chain for Change in Canada and the One Step at a Time Cancer Warrior Walk in South Africa. For more information about specific events, please visit: www.worldcancerday.org/map

About the National Comprehensive Cancer Network

The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®), a not-for-profit alliance of 27 leading cancer centers devoted to patient care, research, and education, is dedicated to improving the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of cancer care so that patients can live better lives. Through the leadership and expertise of clinical professionals at NCCN Member Institutions, NCCN develops resources that present valuable information to the numerous stakeholders in the health care delivery system. As the arbiter of high-quality cancer care, NCCN promotes the importance of continuous quality improvement and recognizes the significance of creating clinical practice guidelines appropriate for use by patients, clinicians, and other health care decision-makers.

Clinicians, visit NCCN.org. Patients and caregivers, visit NCCN.org/patients. Media, visit NCCN.org/news. Follow NCCN on Twitter @NCCNnews and Facebook @National.Comprehensive.Cancer.Network.

About the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC)

UICC is the largest international cancer-fighting organisation, with over 1,000 member organisations across 160 countries representing the world's major cancer societies, ministries of health, research institutes, treatment centres and patient groups. The organisation is dedicated to taking the lead in convening, capacity building and advocacy initiatives that unite the cancer community to reduce the global cancer burden, promote greater equity, and integrate cancer control into the world health and development agenda. 

UICC and its multi-sectorial partners are committed to encouraging governments to look towards the implementation and scale-up of quality and sustainable programmes that address the global burden of cancer and other NCDs. UICC is also a founding member of the NCD Alliance, a global civil society network that now represents almost 2,000 organisations in 170 countries.

For more information, please visit: www.uicc.org

Consolidated data tables:

  1. Cancer incidences and mortalities by country (GLOBOCAN, 2012)
  2. Countries with national cancer control plans and cancer registries (World Health Organization, 2014)
  3. Number of radiotherapy machines and machines per one million population by country (IAEA, 2017)

To access the data tables, please visit: http://www.worldcancerday.org/exclusive-content-uicc-members

[1] World Health Organization (2017) Seventieth World Health Assembly, Agenda item 15.6: Cancer prevention and control in the context of an integrated approach [Accessed:21.12.17] http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA70/A70_R12-en.pdf

[2] World Health Organization (2017) Cancer Fact Sheet. [Accessed:20.12.17] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/

[3] World Health Organization (2017) Cancer Fact Sheet. [Accessed:20.12.17] http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs297/en/

[4] Childhood Cancer International, 8 Reasons why Childhood Cancer should be a global child health priority [Accessed:10.01.2018] http://childhoodcancerinternational.org/8-reasons-why-childhood-cancer-should-be-a-global-child-health-priority/

[5] Barton, Frommer & Shafiq (2006) Role of radiotherapy in cancer control in low-income and middle-income countries, Lancet Oncology 7(7): 584-595 [Accessed 24.04.2017] http://thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lanonc/PIIS1470-2045(06)70759-8.pdf

[6] Zubizarreta et al. (2015) Clin Oncol (R Coll Radiol) 27(2):107-14 [Accessed 24.04.2017] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25455407

[7] Staffurth, Ellison, Ball & Hanna (2015) Patterns of IMRT delivery in England [Accessed 3.01.2018] https://www.google.ch/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiL4dri_rvYAhWIIuwKHXZbAxAQFgg5MAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.natcansat.nhs.uk%2Fdlhandler.ashx%3Fd%3Dpubs%26f%3DNCRI_IMRT%25202015%2520v1.4.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3n79oHHaBi1fiN2vywn_3E

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