World Cancer Day 2022
Even though great advances have been made in cancer prevention, screening, diagnostics and care during the last decades, there are still huge differences and inequities in cancer care around the globe. The theme of this year’s World Cancer Day is to recognize the power of knowledge and try and help #ClosetheCareGap by sharing information and spreading awareness of the persistent inequities that people might face when it comes to cancer. In this blog post, we want to take part in the day’s theme by focusing on an area of inequity we want to help change – access to life-saving cancer screening.
Cancer screening
Currently, over 57 percent of the world’s new cancer cases occur in low income countries. This is most likely due to lack of awareness on risk factors, increased life expectancy, and little to no preventive strategies in place for cancer care. One of these significant preventive strategies is screening.
Screening is an essential part of cancer care. Early detection gives patients significantly better chances of survival and lessens both social and economic burdens caused by cancer. Researchers and health care providers constantly advocate for more cancer screening programs in the Western world, while at the same time cancer research in developing economies remains a low priority.
There is a significant lack of screening solutions that would work in low- and middle income economies. More widely available screening programs would give more concrete evidence on the gap in cancer care – they would give more accurate data on the incidence of different cancers in rural and remote areas that have previously not been studied that well.
At Aqsens Health, our current cancer research focuses are oral and prostate cancer, and they are also areas of inequity we would like to help change.
Oral cancer in South Central Asia
Research suggests that oral cancer’s incidence is higher in South Central Asia and Melanesia than in the rest of the world. It is the leading cause of cancer death in men in India, and causes approximately 75,000 deaths yearly. Almost one third of the world’s oral cancer cases occur in India. Low-income populations and communities have the highest risk of developing oral cancer due to the high prevalence of different environmental risk factors and habits like chewing betel quid or tobacco.
In addition to high environmental risk factors, the unavailability of cost-efficient screening, diagnostics and treatment also leads to higher oral cancer morbidity and mortality in India. Studies have shown that over 50 percent of oral cancer patients seek care only in the advanced stages of the disease, giving them slim chances of recovery.
With a population of over a billion people, oral cancer screening needs to be quick, accurate, efficient as well as affordable to work in India. Our research collaboration with the Public Health Foundation of India seeks to develop an oral cancer screening test that could be made available to people of all socio-economic backgrounds, everywhere in India.
Prostate cancer in Sub-Saharan Africa
Despite a growing cancer burder, cancer remains a low priority in the research and healthcare field in the African continent. Research suggests that in 2030 there will be a 70% increase in new cancer cases due to population growth and aging. Prostate cancer is one cancer with a rising incidence rate in Africa and around the world.
The management of prostate cancer in sub-Saharan Africa continues to be a challenge. There is little investment in prostate cancer screening and only few guidelines. At the same time recent research suggests that the incidence rates of prostate cancer in sub-Saharan Africa are rising, and it is the leading cause of cancer related death in men in Africa.
If prostate cancer is caught early, the patient’s likelihood to go into remission is usually very good, and more invasive and risky procedures and treatments can often be avoided. But accessibility to prostate cancer screening in many places in Africa is difficult.
Much like in India, access to potentially life-saving screening is limited in Sub-Saharan Africa, especially in more remote and rural areas, where access to laboratories is difficult and sterile sample collection conditions that blood-based screening tests require are difficult to arrange.
Non-invasive urine-based screening tests could be the solution. Collecting urine samples requires very little special equipment and it can also be done almost anywhere, improving the accessibility to screening immensely.
Improving cancer care around the world
Our current research focuses are oral and prostate cancer, but in the future we plan to extend our research to other cancer sites and develop new screening tests for, for example, other urinary tract cancers.
In the meantime, there is still a lot to be done about the cancer care gap. Raising awareness, educating people about the inequities in cancer care, and spreading information about how to lower your own individual cancer risk are all things that can create a significant difference in the world.
We hope that our solution can also someday make an impact on the accessibility to cancer screening, and help save lives through early detection. Let’s work together to close the care gap.
You can find more information about World Cancer Day and ways you can take part on their website https://www.worldcancerday.org/.
Stay up to date on our projects and company news by following us on LinkedIn and Twitter.
