Cheap cancer measures
could save hundreds of thousands of lives in poor
countries
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[November 02, 2016]
By Magdalena Mis
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) -
Health interventions costing as little as $1.72 per person could prevent
hundreds of thousands of deaths from breast and cervical cancer in
developing countries, scientists said on Tuesday.
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Nearly 800,000 women die of cervical and breast cancer every year,
with two thirds of breast cancer deaths and 9 out of 10 cervical
cancer deaths in developing countries, they said in a study
published in The Lancet medical journal.
While some diagnostic and treatment options such as mammography and
radiotherapy are often not available in poor countries, several
low-cost interventions have a potential to save lives, the
scientists said.
"There is a widespread misconception that breast and cervical
cancers are too difficult and expensive to prevent and treat,
particularly in resource-poor countries where the burden of these
diseases is highest," Ophira Ginsburg from the University of Toronto
said in a statement.
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"But nothing could be further from the truth. Recent estimates
suggest that a basic cancer control package could be introduced in
low- and middle-income countries for as little as $1.72 per person -
equivalent to just 3 percent of current health spending in these
countries."
Breast and cervical cancer kill nearly three times as many women
each year than complications from pregnancy and childbirth, the
scientists from University of Toronto, University of Cape Town and
King's College London, said.
With the number of women diagnosed with breast cancer expected to
almost double to 3.2 million in 2030 and the number of women
diagnosed with cervical cancer projected to rise by at least a
quarter to over 700,000, the scientists warned the cost of inaction
will be "huge".
They said human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination of girls in the
world's poorest countries over a period of four years could prevent
600,000 deaths from cervical cancer.
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Low- and middle- income countries receive just five percent of
global funding for cancer and persistent underinvestment has
exacerbated the problem.
Reducing inequalities and improving cancer survival for women should
be seen as a part of international commitments to achieve universal
health coverage, they added.
They recommended immunising 70 percent of girls against HPV by 2030
and enabling access to early diagnosis and treatment to all women
with breast cancer.
(Reporting by Magdalena Mis; Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit
Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters,
that covers humanitarian news, women’s rights, corruption and
climate change. Visit news.trust.org)
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