WHO: “More than 90% of the world’s population will be affected in some way by cancer”

MIRA: Has an AI vaccine been created? How Cambridge seeks a “universal vaccine” to get ahead of future pandemics

The organization, together with the International Cancer Research Center (IARC), released this Wednesday a report that “offers the most exhaustive evaluation ever carried out on the global situation in terms of cancer prevention and control,” the head of this area at the WHO, Andre Ilbawi, told the press.

Despite advances in treatments and prevention, more and more people will suffer and die from cancer in the coming years.

“Survival does not depend so much on the type or stage of cancer, as on the country where one lives and the economic situation,” said the deputy director of the CIIC Cancer Surveillance Unit, Isabelle Soerjomataram, in the same presentation.

He cancer It causes the death of 26,000 people in the world every day, with 20.6 million new cases per year and 10 million deaths, making it the second cause of death in the world, only behind cardiovascular diseases.

By 2050, deaths will rise to 35 million a year, but the distribution of this mortality will be marked by inequalities that are increasing and that leave millions of people without access to prevention, diagnosis, treatment or care services.

Ilbawi gave as an example that currently more than 85% of women with breast cancer survive at least five years after their diagnosis in high-income countries, but that proportion is reduced to less than 30 % in many low-income countries.

The report includes the first survey conducted by the OMS among patients, which revealed that at least 45% experience financial difficulties, more than half report suffering from mental health problems and almost all caregivers report having a significant burden, including unpaid care work and social isolation.

Lung cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in the world, while lung, prostate and colon cancers are among the most common in men.

In women, the most common are those of the breast, lung and colon.

The analysis also offers a reading of the results of public policies to reduce tobacco consumption (27% less since 2010), which has helped reduce cases and deaths from lung cancer in some regions.

Infection-related cancers are also declining thanks to expanded immunization coverage, improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as infection prevention and control measures, the WHO says.

However, he recognizes that “lives are not being saved at the necessary rate” despite the fact that almost four out of every ten cancer cases are related to preventable risk factors.

The main ones are the human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B and C and the Helicobacter pylori bacteria, in addition to alcohol and tobacco consumption, overweight, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.

Another example is that in low- and middle-income countries the availability of the twenty priority oncology drugs is between 9% and 54%, while in rich countries it ranges between 68% and 94%.

The OMS advocated making cancer prevention a political priority, investing in treatments and maintaining commitment to tobacco control and vaccination programs.