Oncology Worldwide
Shared Reflections on the 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting: From Networking to Mentorship and More
2024 IDEA Awardees
The ASCO Annual Meeting brings together oncologists, researchers, and health-care professionals to share the latest advancements in cancer care. The 2024 ASCO Annual Meeting (ASCO24) was particularly momentous for those of who received the international development and education award (IDEA). As onc...
Surgical Oncologist Héber Salvador, MD, PhD, Offers an Inside Look at Cancer Care in Brazil, Complete With Its Diversity and Inequities
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, the Jerald L. & Carolynn J. Varner Professor of Surgical Oncology & Global Health at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, spoke with Héber Salvador, MD, PhD, Pres...
A European Leader in Surgical Oncology, Isabel T. Rubio, MD, PhD, Shares Her Story and Sheds Light on the Challenges Ahead
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, guest editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Isabel T. Rubio, MD, PhD, Head of Breast Surgical Oncology at Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Madrid. Dr. Rubio is active in many societies and is a founding member and pas...
Disparities in Cancer Care: A Bangladeshi Perspective
Muhammad Rafiqul Islam, MBBS, MD
The fight against cancer has made remarkable progress worldwide over the past decade. Through corporate investment in research and technology, the incidence of cancer and death rates in developed nations have steadily declined. The number of people living longer and fuller lives after a cancer diagn...
Israeli Surgical Oncology Leader Dov Zippel, MD, Considers the Evolving Landscape of Cancer Care in a Small Nation
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Dov Zippel, MD, a surgical oncologist at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel, where he is Head of the Meirav Breast Center. Dr. Zippel is the current President of ...
Surgeon and Cancer Researcher Kelly M. McMasters, MD, PhD, Celebrates the ‘Miracle of Translational Science’
In this installment of our Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Kelly M. McMasters, MD, PhD, who, for the past 27 years, has directed a basic and translational science lab studying adenovirus-mediated cancer gene therapy and melanoma biomarkers. He...
Early Exposure to Health-Care Inequities Sets the Stage for a Leadership Role in Global Oncology for Satish Gopal, MD, MPH
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, guest editor, Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Satish Gopal, MD, MPH, Director of the Center for Global Health at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In this role, he oversees the development of initiatives and collab...
Unique Challenges of Cancer Care in India
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology, guest editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Rajendra Toprani, MBBS, MS, MCh, Head of the Department of Head and Neck Surgical Oncology at HCG Cancer Centre, Ahmedabad, India. Dr. Toprani’s areas of interest include oral, la...
Raised in Africa, Surgeon Kristin Flowers, MD, Continues the Tradition of Service in a Rural Hospital in Alaska
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Kristin Flowers, MD, a general surgeon at Tanana Valley Clinic at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital in rural Alaska. Dr. Flowers’ surgical areas of interest include treating pati...
How ASCO and the Oncology Community Came Together to Discuss Progress in Global Cancer Control and the Challenges Ahead
Jo Cavallo
After a 4-year in-person hiatus because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the World Cancer Congress, hosted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), held its first hybrid in-person and virtual meeting in October in Geneva. The conference brought together more than 2,000 attendees from ov...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bolivia
HOPE CRAIG, MSPH, AND CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Bolivia. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the worl...
International Career Joins Cancer Research and Clinical Care of Patients With Lung Cancer
Ronald Piana
Pilar Garrido, MD, PhD, is Head of the Medical Oncology Department, University Hospital Ramón y Cajal, Madrid. She is also Co-Director of the Cancer Research Group at Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria (IRYCIS). Her main areas of research and clinical interest are thoracic tumors, in...
A Surgical Oncologist From Afghanistan Discusses the Challenges of Delivering Cancer Care in a War-Torn Nation
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Ahmad Bashir Barekzai, MD, FACS, Consultant Surgical Oncologist at Ali Abad Teaching Hospital, an affiliated hospital to Kabul University of Medical Science, Kabul, Afghani...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Austria
Hope Craig, MSPH, and Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
The Republic of Austria is a high-income, landlocked country in south-central Europe and has been a member of the European Union since 1995.1 Vienna, the capital city of nearly 2 million people, is regularly ranked among the most livable cities in the world.2 The total population of Austria is more ...
Noted Oncology Surgeon Kevin Billingsley, MD, MBA, FACS, Uses Life Experiences to Mold His Leadership Philosophy
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Kevin Billingsley, MD, MBA, FACS, Chief Medical Officer of the Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center. Although interracial marriage is common in the United States ...
An Oncology Surgeon Leads Mexico’s Melanoma Program
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with surgical oncologist Héctor Martínez-Said, MD, of the Melanoma Clinic at NCI Mexico. Dr. Martínez-Said’s maternal grandfather was part of a Lebanese immigration movement ...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in the Russian Federation
Anton Barchuk, MD, PhD; Yulia Raskina, PhD; Rustam Tursun-Zade; Hope Craig, MSPH; Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS; Vadim Gushchin, MD, FACS, FSSO
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world, extending from Eastern Europe to Northern Asia and the Pacific Ocean. The population of more than 140 million people is unevenly distributed across the country.1 As a result, Russia has high spatial inequality in terms of accessibility of p...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Burundi
Hope Craig, MSPH, and Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Burundi. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the worl...
Choosing Wisely, Researchers Look at Access to Essential Cancer Drugs on a Global Scale
Ronald Piana
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), an estimated 19.3 million new cancer cases occurred worldwide in 2020, resulting in almost 10 million deaths. The IARC projects a 50% rise in global cancer incidence and mortality by 2040. To help control this looming crisis, equit...
Paradox Between Cost and Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Rate in Latin America
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Gregorio Jaimovich, MD, Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at Favaloro University Hospital in Buenos Aires. Distinguished expert on radiation therapy and bone m...
Urbanization in Bangladesh: The Prevalence of Breast Cancer Brings Unique Challenges
Muhammad Rafiqul Islam, MBBS, MD
The number of deaths related to breast cancer are increasing at an alarming pace worldwide. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) 2020 report, approximately 2,088,849 new cases and 627,000 deaths related to breast cancer occurred in 2018.1 More than 55% of these deaths occurred in low- to...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bhutan
Hope Craig, MSPH, and Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
Located in the Eastern Himalayas, Bhutan is a landlocked, lower–middle-income country bordered by China and India. With a population of more than 850,000 people, Bhutan is predominately made up of three ethnic groups—the largest group is the Bhutia (also called Ngalop), followed by the Nepalese ...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Brunei Darussalam
Hope Craig, MSPH, and Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
With a population under half a million people, Brunei Darussalam is a small equatorial nation in Southeast Asia. Bordered by the South China Sea on the north, Brunei Darussalam is surrounded on all other sides by Malaysia, which separates the nation into two noncontiguous parts. Nearly two-thirds ...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in South Africa
LYDIA CAIRNCROSS, MBChB, FCS (SA), MMed; JEANNETTE PARKES, MBBCh, FC Rad Onc (SA); HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; AND CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in South Africa. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
An Egyptian Surgical Oncologist Urges Global Cooperation to Achieve Equitable Cancer Care
Ronald Piana
In this installment of The ASCO Post’s Global Oncology series, Guest Editor Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Ashraf Zaghloul, MD, DrPH, Professor at the National Cancer Institute of Egypt and President of the Egyptian Society of Surgical Oncology. Dr. Zaghloul was born in 1956 in...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bahrain
HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; AND CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
The Kingdom of Bahrain is a high-income island nation located in the Persian Gulf. The nation is an archipelago consisting of two separate groups of islands spanning 30 miles north to south, 10 miles east to west, and about 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC. Though situated in a region rich i...
Early Adopter of Breast Conservation, Surgical Oncologist Augusto Leon, MD, Reflects on Cancer Care in Chile
In this installment of the occasional department on Global Health-Care Equity, Guest Editor, Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, spoke with Augusto Leon, MD, a surgical oncologist and Head of the Program of Cancer at Pontifical University of Chile, Santiago. Dr. Are is JL & CJ Varner Profes...
Cancer in Morocco: Access to Innovative Treatments and Research Status
Zineb Benbrahim, MD, MPH; Saber Boutayeb, MD, PhD; Hassan Errihani, MD, PhD; and Nawfel Mellas, MD
Morocco is an Arab country in North Africa. It covers 716,550 square kilometers and has a population of nearly 36 million. The median age is 29.3 years. Morocco’s estimated gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 was $122 million. As of 2019, Morocco’s health budget was equivalent to 4.5% of the total ...
Cancer Control in Egypt: Investing in Health
MOHAMED ALORABI, MBBCh, MSc, MD, AND HAGAR ELGHAZAWY, MBBCh, MSc, MD
Egypt is a country of 1,010,408 km2 located on the northeast corner of Africa with a population exceeding 100 million. In 2018, there were about 134,632 new cancer cases and 89,042 cancer-related deaths in Egypt. Liver and breast cancers are the most common tumors in terms of incidence and morta...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Kenya
PANKAJ G. JANI, MBChB, MMed, FRCS, FCS(ECSA); HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS; AND GURPREET ROOPRAI, MBChB, MMed
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Kenya. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the worl...
Indian Surgical Oncologist Offers Insights Into Delivering Equitable Cancer Care in a Resource-Challenged Country
The ASCO Post Staff
The ASCO Post is pleased to introduce this department on Global Health-Care Equity. On an occasional basis, we will publish interviews between Guest Editor, Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, and another oncologist or cancer care specialist spanning regions around the world. Our goal is to rai...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Burkina Faso
Hope Craig, MSPH, and Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Burkina Faso. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Colombia
OSCAR A. GUEVARA, MD, MS, FACS; HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS; AND DANIEL A. ANAYA, MD, FSSO, FACS
Colombia is located in the northwestern corner of South America, geographically privileged with coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Andean region, and the Amazon rainforest. Based on its population of nearly 50 million (see Table 1), Colombia is the second largest country in South ...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Chile
AUGUSTO LEÓN, MD, MSCCh, FACS; KLAUS PUSCHEL, MD, MPH, MSc; HOPE CRAIG, MSPH; AUGUSTO LEÓN G-H, MD; and CHANDRAKANTH ARE, MBBS, MBA, FSSO, FRCS, FACS
Chile has a population of approximately 19 million living predominantly in urban areas (87.7%), with a population density of 66 inhabitants per square mile.1 For the year 2020, approximately 12% of its population was older than 65 years.1 Socioeconomic Trends and Cancer The country has experienc...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Botswana
Chandrakanth Are, MBBS, MBA, FRCS, FACS, and Emily Zurbuchen, MD
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Botswana. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the wor...
Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Cambodia
The ASCO Post Staff
The ASCO Post is pleased to continue this occasional special focus on the worldwide cancer burden. In this issue, we feature a close look at the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Cambodia. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the wor...
Second Global AYA Cancer Congress Highlights Research Advances and the Global Burden of Cancer Among Young Adults
This past December, nearly 400 medical professionals from a variety of fields—including medical oncology, palliative care, science, nursing, social work, and psychology—and 23 countries traveled to Atlanta, to attend the 2nd Global Adolescent & Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Congress. The 3-day confer...
A Prominent Oncologist Retraces Her Steps from Baghdad
Maha Hussain, MD, FACP, Professor of Medicine and Urology, is the Associate Director for Clinical Research at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMCCC) and Co-leader of its Prostate Cancer/GU Oncology program. Dr. Hussain recently spoke with The ASCO Post about becoming a doctor...
Cancer Care in the UK: A Conversation with Chris Parker, MD
Ronald Piana
In the contentious debate over rising health-care spending, the cancer care policies of the British National Health Service (NHS) are often cited by U.S. policymakers as an example of how health-care rationing denies patients life-prolonging treatments based on costs. The ASCO Post recently spoke wi...
UN Summit to Focus on Noncommunicable Diseases This Month
For the second time since its inception 65 years ago, the United Nations General Assembly is holding a “High-level Meeting” that will focus on health. During the September 19–20 meeting, world leaders will shine a spotlight on the devastation that noncommunicable diseases are causing and have caused...
Treating Cancer in Japan: A Conversation with Kensei Tobinai, MD
Ronald Piana
In this installment of Oncology Worldwide, internationally regarded lymphoma expert and cancer survivor, Kensei Tobinai, MD, Chief, National Cancer Center Hospital, Tokyo, sheds light on the Japanese oncology experience. Medical Education What was the medical school experience in Japan like? Whe...
Tobacco Remains the Dominant Global Risk Factor Underlying Cancer
Margot Fromer
Despite clear evidence that tobacco causes at least 18 types of cancer, as well as many other diseases, many people all over the world smoke or chew tobacco, or are exposed to secondhand smoke. Although smoking among Americans has declined slowly but steadily over the past 40 years, it remains the l...
ASCO Supports the United Nations Political Declaration on Noncommunicable Diseases
Jo Cavallo
In September, government leaders from around the world as well as representatives from civil society, the private sector and academia gathered at the United Nations in New York for the first-ever summit on the growing economic and human crisis posed by noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), especially in ...
Global Trials: Do Benefits Outweigh Pitfalls?
Caroline Helwick
Global clinical trials have many advantages and are essential in many disease settings, but there are also challenges that confront global industry-sponsored research, said Sandra Horning, MD, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Clinical Development in Hematology/Oncology for Genentech (Table 1...
Lessons from a Northern Neighbor: A Conversation with Joseph M. Connors, MD
Ronald Piana
Policy analysts searching for a better understanding of health-care models often compare the cancer delivery systems of Canada and the United States. The ASCO Post recently spoke with Joseph M. Connors, MD, Clinical Professor and Director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Centre for Lymphoid Cancer, Vancouv...
Inefficient Markets Impede Cancer Pain Relief
Meg O’Brien, PhD
The potent analgesic property of morphine was first isolated in 1804, and after more than 2 centuries morphine is still the gold standard for moderate to severe pain. It is relatively easy to produce, and compared to most pharmaceuticals, morphine is dirt-cheap. Therein lies the cruel conundrum: Mor...
FDA Strengthens International Collaboration to Ensure Quality, Safety of Imported Products
FDA Commissioner Margaret A. Hamburg, MD, recently released the agency’s Global Engagement Report, detailing the many activities and strategies FDA is using to transform from a domestic to a global public health agency. The report describes the steps the agency is taking to ensure that imported fo...
Cancer Care in India: Complex Challenges in a Populous Nation
With 1.22 billion people, India is the second most populous country in the world. Experts project that cancer incidence in India will increase by more than two-thirds over the next 20 years, to approximately 1.7 million new cases per year. Due to a range of economic and social issues, most of India’...
Untreated Cancer Pain Remains a Significant Global Problem
“Physicians are afraid of morphine … Doctors [in Kenya] are so used to patients dying in pain … they think that this is how you must die. They are suspicious if you don’t die this way — [and feel] that you died prematurely.” —Human Rights Watch interview with Dr. John Weru of Nairobi Hospice, Kenya...
Cancer Care in Rwanda: A Model of Creative Partnerships
While disparities in cancer care remain problematic in wealthy industrial nations like the United States, the challenges faced in poorer regions of the world are, by comparison, inestimable. Nationally regarded health-care expert Lawrence N. Shulman, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is part of a...
