Five new papers highlight cancer inequities, challenges and opportunities in South Asia

A sequence of 5 papers, printed at the moment in The Lancet Oncology by a College of Pittsburgh-led worldwide group, highlights crucial public well being challenges associated to most cancers management within the eight international locations that type the South Asian Affiliation for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Rohingya refugee inhabitants in Bangladesh. The sequence underscores limitations contributing to important disparities in most cancers outcomes and identifies actionable options to handle these challenges in one of the crucial complete efforts to grasp this area’s most cancers burden.

The papers name for a complete, coordinated strategy to handle the most cancers burden in SAARC international locations—Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka—that are dwelling to greater than 1.92 billion folks. The authors urge policymakers and different stakeholders to implement culturally delicate approaches to enhance most cancers prevention, screening, early detection and remedy on this area.

Though most cancers incidence charges in SAARC international locations are decrease in comparison with the remainder of the world, mortality charges are greater. Most cancers incidence is on the rise, with lung, breast, oral and cervical cancers the commonest. That is largely attributable to late-stage diagnoses due to a extreme scarcity of early detection packages, restricted entry to remedies and insufficient well being care infrastructure.

These points are compounded in refugee settings, notably among the many almost a million Rohingya inhabitants dwelling in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, the place overcrowded camps, restricted assets, insufficient infrastructure and political limitations worsen the scenario.

“Within the SAARC international locations, we face a crucial scarcity of skilled oncology professionals, restricted well being care infrastructure and important well being care disparities between city and rural areas, all of which affect entry to top quality most cancers care,” stated corresponding writer Saiful Huq, Ph.D., professor within the Division of Radiation Oncology on the College of Pittsburgh College of Medication and director of the Medical Physics Division at UPMC Hillman Most cancers Middle.

“There’s a great want for efficient interventions to enhance care throughout your complete most cancers continuum—from prevention and analysis to remedy and palliative look after folks dwelling in these international locations, which is nearly one quarter of the world’s inhabitants.”

Within the sequence of papers, Huq and his co-authors describe limitations particular to every SAARC nation and people which might be widespread throughout the area. These embody a ignorance about most cancers signs, threat elements corresponding to smoking and chewing betel nut, cultural stigmas, myths that most cancers is untreatable or contagious, lack of entry to well being care services in rural and distant areas, monetary difficulties confronted by many sufferers and their households and inadequate authorities funding in most cancers care.

A serious barrier to most cancers care is the scarcity of skilled most cancers care professionals in SAARC nations—together with oncologists, medical physicists, radiation technologists and oncology nurses —pushed by inadequate academic and coaching packages. Moreover, the SAARC international locations face disparities in most cancers analysis funding and a scarcity of infrastructure to assist large-scale complete most cancers remedy efforts.

“SAARC nations face a myriad of challenges in offering accessible and equitable most cancers care to their numerous populations,” stated Huq.

“As a primary step to addressing these challenges, there’s an pressing must strengthen every nation’s nationwide most cancers management program as a way to develop methods to improve well being care infrastructure, notably in rural and underserved areas, and investing within the coaching, schooling and retention of expert well being care professionals.”

Different key suggestions embody increasing most cancers registries to enhance knowledge assortment that may inform coverage choices for most cancers management efforts and strengthen analysis capability; launching public well being campaigns to advertise prevention; selling early detection and consciousness of most cancers threat elements; and fostering regional collaboration and partnerships to make sure higher entry to most cancers remedy.

The papers emphasize that regional networks may play a major function in advocacy and useful resource mobilization, notably for international locations with restricted well being care budgets.

Among the many Rohingya refugee inhabitants, most cancers—notably hepatocellular carcinoma, oral most cancers and cervical most cancers—is a rising concern. The papers name for culturally delicate and multi-pronged interventions to handle these points, together with partnerships with native leaders and communities to lift most cancers consciousness, cut back stigmas, enhance well being literacy and strengthen capability for most cancers screening, remedy and palliative care.

To boost consciousness and drive coverage adjustments, Huq will launch this sequence of papers on December 12 on the International Well being Catalyst Summit in Bangladesh to an viewers that may embody Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor of the Interim Authorities of Bangladesh; ambassadors from SAARC international locations; and different stakeholders.

“The dedication of Dr. Huq and your complete International Well being Catalyst to enhancing most cancers care across the globe is actually superb and I used to be honored to have the chance to collaborate with him in highlighting this crucial problem,” stated co-author Heath Skinner, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chair of the Division of Radiation Oncology on the Pitt College of Medication and chief medical officer of the Radiation Oncology Community of UPMC Hillman.

Different authors of the sequence are listed in The Lancet Oncology papers on-line.