On World Cancer Day 2021, the World Health Organization will host a series that anticipates a new global breast cancer initiative to be launched later this year. This initiative is in response to a December 2020 report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) that reveals the prevalence of breast cancer globally. Now, breast cancer is more often diagnosed than lung cancer around the world.
Together with IARC, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other organisations, WHO will work to promote breast health and to improve the processes involved in cancer detection and access to care.
According to WHO, in the past twenty years, the overall number of people diagnosed with cancer has nearly doubled, from approximately 10 million cases in 2000 to 19.3 million in 2020. WHO predicts that one in 5 individuals will have cancer at some point in their lifetime and that more and more people will be diagnosed with cancer in the coming years.
In 2040, the number of people receiving cancer diagnoses is projected to be 50% higher than in 2020. The ever-growing burden of cancer due to unhealthy lifestyle changes and increased longevity is putting a strain on individuals as well as their communities and health systems around the world, which explains the urgency to put new protocols into place. WHO have identified cancer prevention and cancer control as well as improved focus on actionable cancers like breast cancer, cervical cancer, and childhood cancers as needs.
The new initiative aims to reduce the number of deaths from breast cancer around the world. Alongside diagnoses, the number of deaths from cancer have also increased since 2000. Cancer is responsible for more than one out every 6 deaths, and since 2000, the number of deaths has increased from 6.2 million to 10 million in 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to prioritise early detection and diagnosis as well as the need to improve access to treatment, in low and middle-income countries in particular. Individuals living with cancer are more vulnerable to severe illness and death due to COVID-19, which complicates the disruptions in cancer care services due to pandemic-related health and safety restrictions.
A 2020 WHO survey demonstrates that cancer care services were disrupted by the pandemic in 40% of the countries who participated in the survey. Other studies have confirmed that delayed diagnoses and interrupted therapy, as well as the abandonment of therapy, have resulted from these disruptions. On the research side, participation in clinical trials and consequent research output have decreased. In response to these pressing healthcare issues, many governments are now facilitating processes that ensure cancer patients can receive care safely while healthcare professionals are using systems like telemedicine to continue care.
World Cancer Day affords WHO the opportunity to showcase their commitment to global cancer programmes that address other cancers like cervical cancer and childhood cancer that have a high chance of cure with early diagnosis and treatment. Cervical cancer targets set for 2030 involve 90% of girls vaccinated with the HPV vaccine, 70% of women screened, and 90% of women with cervical cancer receiving treatment. On 15 February, which is International Childhood Cancer Day, a new guide to building childhood cancer programmes will be released. New data collection tools and an online information-sharing hub for childhood cancer will accompany the guide.
