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Global Cancer Care

Pfizer Announces Plan to Maintain Humanitarian Supply of Medicines to Russians, Donate All Proceeds to Humanitarian Support for the People of Ukraine

On March 14, Pfizer issued the following statement on its company position in Russia. Pfizer stands with the unified global community across the public, private, and civil society sectors in opposition to the Russian war in Ukraine and the brutal situation it has created. The international...

Global Cancer Care

War Is Hell. It’s Also a Public Health Disaster, Especially for People With Cancer

We are all following the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine with surprise and horror. I’m sure few readers of The ASCO Post imagined the invasion of a European country by its European neighbor was possible again, naively thinking wars like this ended with the Allied victory in World War II. But...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer in the Arab World: Addressing Challenges to Improve Outcomes

I returned home to the United Arab Emirates in 2017, following my oncology fellowship training and work experience in the United States. I immediately realized that I am now dealing with a considerably different cancer patient population in terms of age of onset, stage at presentation, awareness...

Global Cancer Care

Humanitarian Paul Farmer, MD, PhD, Dies at 62

"One of the great advocates for the poorest and sickest of our planet.”                                 —Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu “Our mission is to provide a preferential option for the poor in health care. By establishing long-term relationships with sister organizations ...

Global Cancer Care

Societies Team Up to Provide Support for Ukrainian Patients With Cancer

According to the United Nations (UN), more than 1.7 million Ukrainians have already fled to Central Europe due to the Russian invasion, which the UN High Commissioner for Refugees has called the fastest-growing refugee crisis in Europe since World War II. Many of those fleeing Ukraine and those...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in the Russian Federation

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...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Burundi

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...

Global Cancer Care

UICC to Launch 3-Year Campaign to Create More Equitable Access to Cancer Services

On February 4, 2022, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) will launch a new 3-year campaign for World Cancer Day that brings together individuals, organizations, and governments around the world in an effort to create awareness and help close the gap in cancer care. The campaign...

Global Cancer Care

Global Burden of Cancer From 2010 to 2019

In an analysis reported in JAMA Oncology, researchers in the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Cancer Collaboration found a global increase in new cases of cancer, cancer deaths, and cancer-related disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) between 2010 and 2019, with aspects of cancer burden differing...

Global Cancer Care

Study Examines Global Cancer Burden From 2010 to 2019

Cancer deaths rose to 10 million and new cases jumped to over 23 million globally in 2019, according to a new study from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine published in JAMA Oncology. At the start of the decade in 2010, total...

Global Cancer Care

The Cancer Research Institute in Morocco: A Center of Excellence Illustrating Progress in Africa in the Age of Global Oncology

The enthusiasm behind the open access initiative sprang from the need for scientific research that is accessible to everyone worldwide. Open knowledge based on open access also aimed to increase good research practices such as reproducibility and transparency.1 This movement was launched by...

Global Cancer Care

Global Burden of Cancer in Adolescent and Young Adult Patients in 2019

In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, researchers working collectively as the Global Burden of Disease 2019 Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Collaborators identified cancer incidence and mortality rates in 2019 among individual aged 15 to 39 years globally and according to country...

Issues in Oncology
Global Cancer Care

Choosing Wisely, Researchers Look at Access to Essential Cancer Drugs on a Global Scale

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,...

Global Cancer Care

Living in Survival Mode

About 10 years ago, on a flight to Detroit, while returning from the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, I had a conversation with Lori Pierce, MD, FASTRO, FASCO, radiation oncologist at the University of Michigan, who went on to become ASCO President for the 2020–2021 term. I recall inviting her...

Breast Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Urbanization in Bangladesh: The Prevalence of Breast Cancer Brings Unique Challenges

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 ...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bhutan

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...

Gynecologic Cancers
Global Cancer Care

Efficacy of Quadrivalent HPV Vaccine in Girls in India Against Persistent HPV-16/18 Infection: 10-Year Protection Analysis

In a prospective cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Partha Basu, MD, and colleagues found that a single dose of quadrivalent human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine given to girls in India provided 10-year protection equal to two or three doses against persistent infection with HPV types 16...

Breast Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Global Analysis of National Health System Characteristics and Breast Cancer Mortality and Stage at Diagnosis

In a global population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Duggan et al identified national health system characteristics associated with reduced breast cancer mortality, including higher Universal Health Coverage Service Coverage Index (UHC Index) rating and increased number of public...

Hematologic Malignancies
Leukemia
Immunotherapy
Global Cancer Care

A Look at Tomorrow’s CAR T-Cell Therapy Today

Some of the most impressive data on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy have come from studies conducted in China. Attendees at the 2021 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference heard from one of the leading Chinese investigators, Peihua (Peggy) Lu, MD, of Lu Daopei Hospital, who described the...

Issues in Oncology
Global Cancer Care

International Survey on Access to Cancer Medicines Considered Essential by Oncologists

An international cross-sectional survey reported in The Lancet Oncology by Fundytus et al found that access to cancer medicines considered essential by oncologists is lacking across the spectrum of low- and lower middle–income to high-income countries.   As stated by the investigators, “The World...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Brunei Darussalam

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...

Hematologic Malignancies
Global Cancer Care

Paradox Between Cost and Hematopoietic Cell Transplant Rate in Latin America

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...

Gastrointestinal Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Gastrointestinal Oncologist Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH: A Pioneer in Global Oncology

Katherine Van Loon, MD, MPH, was raised in Miami, until the age of 12, and then her family relocated to Atlanta, where she spent her junior and high school years. “If you ask my parents about my decision to become a doctor, they will say I first declared it at age 5. Nobody knew how that idea came...

Global Cancer Care
COVID-19

Building a ‘Better Normal’ of Oncology Care to Strengthen Global Health Security After the COVID-19 Pandemic

During the opening session of the 2021 ASCO Annual Meeting, Julio Frenk, MD, PhD, MPH, President of the University of Miami, gave a riveting presentation in which he described the devastating effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic on patients with cancer as well as on fragile and fragmented...

COVID-19
Global Cancer Care

Estimated Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Cancer Diagnosis and Survival in Chile Over the Next Decade

In a simulation-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ward et al estimated that delay in diagnosis due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile will lead to an early surge of newly diagnosed cancers at later stages, resulting in excess mortality over the next 10 years. As stated by the...

Issues in Oncology
Supportive Care
Global Cancer Care

Study Examines How Children Cope With a Parent’s Cancer Diagnosis

A cancer diagnosis can abruptly and durably alter the course of daily life—not just for the person diagnosed but also for family members. New research presented by Sinen Korbi, MD, and colleagues at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2021 examined the coping mechanisms of...

lung cancer
global cancer care

Christine D. Berg, MD, on Lung Cancer Deaths Attributable to Air Pollution: Global Variability

Christine D. Berg, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses air pollution as a carcinogen that disproportionately affects poorer, overburdened communities and the elderly and frail—especially in countries where smoking rates are high and the use of coal predominates. Clinicians, Dr. Berg says, can help their patients by advocating for switching to clean energy and transportation and helping health-care facilities become more sustainable (Abstract PL02.07).

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in South Africa

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...

lung cancer
global cancer care

Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, on Disparities in Lung Cancer Care: The Global Burden

Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, of the Mayo Clinic, talks about the fact that despite strides in lung cancer treatment, more than 60% of the world’s patients with the disease are in countries with relatively scarce medical resources, where less than 50% of patients are screened. There is a great need, says Dr. Adjei, to focus on ways to reduce disparities and remove the barriers of cost, access, quality, and lack of awareness (Abstract PL01.03).

Lung Cancer
Global Cancer Care

IASLC 2021: Study Examines Global Risk of Lung Cancer Due to Air Pollution

Five European countries rank highest for lung cancer risk attributable to air pollution among those aged 50 to 69 years, according to research presented by Berg et al in the Presidential Symposium Plenary Session at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2021 World...

COVID-19
Global Cancer Care

Effects of COVID-19 Infection in Children and Adolescents With Cancer: Global Analysis

In a Global Registry of COVID-19 in Childhood Cancer cohort study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Mukkada et al found that approximately one-fifth of children with cancer infected with COVID-19 worldwide had severe illness, with an associated mortality rate exceeding that reported in the general...

Breast Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Global Breast Cancer Survival: Estimated Impact of Scaling Up Access to Treatment/Imaging Modalities and Quality of Care

In a study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Ward et al estimated the improvements in global overall survival for female breast cancer that could be achieved via increased availability of treatment and imaging modalities, as well as improvements in quality of care. Study Details The study used a...

Global Cancer Care
Breast Cancer

Historic, Present, and Future Perspectives on Breast Cancer in Egypt

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among women around the world, making it a significant public health problem.1 The disease affects both men and women, although it is rare in men, accounting for just 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses in the United States and less than 0.1% of...

hematologic malignancies
immunotherapy
global cancer care

Peihua (Peggy) Lu, MD, on CAR T-Cell Therapy: Research in China

Peihua Lu, MD, of Lu Daopei Hospital, discusses the state of research in China on CAR T-cell therapy, placing it in the context of the global development pipeline and the progress being made.

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bahrain

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 Bahrain. The aim of this special feature is to highlight the global cancer burden for various countries of the...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer on the Global Stage: Incidence and Cancer-Related Mortality in Bahrain

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 in ...

Global Cancer Care

An Egyptian Surgical Oncologist Urges Global Cooperation to Achieve Equitable Cancer Care

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 ...

Issues in Oncology
Global Cancer Care

How Climate Change Is Impacting Cancer Care and What Can Be Done to Reduce Oncology’s Footprint on the Environment

Worldwide, the global average surface temperature has risen at a similar rate of 0.17°F per decade since 1901, with the warmest year on record occurring in 2016 and the second warmest occurring in 2020. However, according to NOAA, since the late 1970s, the United States has warmed faster than the...

Lymphoma
Global Cancer Care

Study Explores Cost-Effectiveness of CHOP Therapy for Patients With DLBCL in Sub-Saharan Africa

In a clinical trial conducted in Malawi, researchers found that combination chemotherapy with CHOP (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) provided curative benefit compared to current standard-of-care therapy in people diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL)—and...

Issues in Oncology
Global Cancer Care

Global Estimates of New Cancers Attributable to Alcohol Use in 2020

In a population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Rumgay et al provided estimates of the global incidence of new cancers attributable to alcohol consumption, including the estimate that 4.1% of all new cases in 2020 were related to alcohol use. Study Details   In the study, population...

Global Cancer Care
Health-Care Policy

Canadian Oncologists Report Costly Delays in Their Drug Regulatory Process

Canada’s publicly funded health-care system has a complex drug approval and funding process. Due to multiple assessment steps and bureaucratic processes, newly developed cancer drugs can often experience long delays before oncologists may use them to treat their patients with cancer. Several...

Breast Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Reflections on Evolution of Breast Cancer Care in India Over the Past 4 Decades

India has witnessed a major paradigm shift in the field of breast cancer and its management over the past 4 decades. The discipline of medical oncology has evolved exponentially over this period—a growth that few other scientific disciplines have experienced. Interventions at the individual,...

Global Cancer Care

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...

Global Cancer Care

Predicting Global Cancer Trends in 2021

Although we are just halfway through 2021, the outlook for improvements in global cancer trends looks grim. According to new estimates by the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s Global Cancer Observatory, the global cancer burden rose to 19.3 million cases and 10 million deaths in 2020...

Global Cancer Care

Postoperative Mortality and Complications After Cancer Surgery in High- vs Low- or Middle-Income Countries

In a prospective cohort study reported in The Lancet, the GlobalSurg Collaborative found that 30-day mortality after surgery for colorectal and gastric cancers, but not breast cancer, was higher in low- or middle-income countries vs high-income countries.1 Among all patients, mortality rates...

Gynecologic Cancers
Global Cancer Care

New Recommendations From WHO and HRP for the Screening and Treatment of Cervical Cancer

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP)—the main instrument within the United Nations system for research in human reproduction—have launched a new guideline to help countries make faster progress, more equitably, in the screening and treatment of cervical...

Global Cancer Care

Cancer in Morocco: Access to Innovative Treatments and Research Status

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 ...

Global Cancer Care
COVID-19

Harnessing a Worldwide Effort to Combat COVID-19 and Cancer

This past October, in a virtually held ceremony of the General Assembly of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Anil K. D’Cruz, MBBS, MS, DNB, FRCS (Hon), Director of Oncology at Apollo Hospitals in Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi, India, began his 2-year tenure as President of the global...

Gynecologic Cancers
Genomics/Genetics
Global Cancer Care

Prevalence of Germline BRCA Mutations in Women With Ovarian Cancer in India

In a prospective cross-sectional study reported in JCO Global Oncology, Gupta et al found that women with ovarian cancer in India had a high prevalence of pathogenic or likely pathogenic BRCA variants. As stated by the investigators: “There are deficient data on prevalence of germline mutations in...

Colorectal Cancer
Global Cancer Care

Colorectal Cancer Incidence and Mortality in European Countries

In a European population-based study reported in The Lancet Oncology, Cardoso et al found that colorectal cancer incidence and mortality declined more in European countries with long-standing colonoscopy or fecal test screening programs since the year 2000 compared to countries with more recently...

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