Asia is “on the cusp of a major cancer epidemic of unprecedented proportions”. This was the main topic of discussion for hundreds of delegates at the Lancet Asia Medical Forum in Singapore last week.
The Lancet Asia Medical Forum convened leading regional and international experts to discuss not only the science but also specific issues surrounding the provision and future needs of effective cancer care in Asia.
Asia’s population is rising faster than Europe’s or America’s, and the proportion of people over 65 is growing alarmingly.
As an example, in the last 25 years the population of China has grown by 31 per cent and the over 65s by 81 per cent. This compares with a 6 per cent population growth and a 7 per cent growth in the over 65s in the UK.
Cancers are more common in older people, so these figures show how acute the problem is becoming. According to information on the Lancet Asia Medical Forum website, the number of new cancer cases in Asia is set to increase from 3.5 million in 2002 to 8.1 million by 2020 if “current prevention and management strategies remain unchanged”.
Speaking at the Forum, editor of The Lancet medical journal, Richard Horton said that such a growth rate (he is reported to have quoted a rise to 7.1 million by 2020) would strain health systems in countries that are least able to afford the cost of cancer care.
Other presenters said that the growth of cancer and other modern world diseases such as diabetes may slow down the growth of the world’s two fastest growing economies: China and India.
Cancer kills more people globally than AIDS, TB and malaria combined.
Of the 7 million deaths worldwide due to cancer in 2002, half of them were in Asia, of which nearly a quarter were in China, the delegates were informed.
A Chinese epidemiologist said that in the past people in developing countries died before they got cancer. But as the number of older people in the population rises, so cancer starts to make an impact on the disease profile of a nation.
This poses challenges to the health system in some unprecedented ways. Most people in China don’t have health insurance, so the cost of treatment is paid for by the whole family. And when it doesn’t work, quite often violence ensues. Attacks on health professionals is a growing crime area, reflecting the Chinese people’s frustration with the health system, the delegates were told.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
— In 2005 the number of people worldwide who died from cancer was 7.6 million.
— This compares with 58 million deaths in total.
— More than 70 per cent of all cancer deaths are in low and middle income countries.
— Low and middle income countries have limited or nonexistent resourcers for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer.
— Cancer deaths will continue to rise: 9 million will die from the disease in 2015, and 11.4 million in 2030.
The effect of rising by 45 per cent would mean that deaths due to cancer in Asia would reach 163 per 100,000 people by 2030 (it was 112 per 100,000 in 2005). This would be more than the American continent, where cancer deaths are projected to rise from 136 to 156 per 100,000 over the same period.
But Europe, which stood at 215 cancer deaths per 100,000 in 2005, is likely to remain the highest at 234 per 100,000 (9 per cent rise) by 2030, according to media reports of WHO figures released at the Forum.
According to the WHO, over 40 per cent of all cancers can be prevented and others can be detected early, treated and cured. And even with late stage cancer, the suffering of patients can be relieved with good palliative care.
The Forum also discussed the most prevalent cancers in Asia, including: breast cancer, stomach cancer, liver cancer, colorectal cancer, head and neck cancers, and oesophageal cancer.
Click here for Lancet Asia Medical Forum website.
Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today