Because of its high incidence and high cost of treatment, cancer has Macroeconomic impact.
Bad news: by 2050, global cancer cases may increase by as much as 66.7%, particularly in lower-income countries and regions that face obstacles in providing timely access to diagnosis and care.
Good news: Early diagnosis is more prevalent and new forms of treatment make many early-detected cancers survivable. (YAY! On a personal note, my bilateral invasive breast cancer was detected at Stage 1 and treated in 2015. So far, no recurrence. Keeping fingers crossed.)
Bad news: Infections account for a particularly large share of cancers in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, where high prevalence of HPV, H. pylori, HBV, HCV and other agents is sustained by limited access to vaccines, testing and screening, safe water and sanitation, and timely treatment.
Good news: More than 45% (or 4.3 million) of new cancer cases in men, globally, were linked to preventable causes, while modifiable risk factors accounted for approximately 30% (2.7 million) of new cases in women.
Bad news: it’s very hard to get people to modify their lifestyles and environments to prevent the preventable cancers.
Men tend to have higher exposure to several major risks — notably tobacco smoking, alcohol, and some occupational carcinogens — and these factors drive high burdens of lung, stomach, liver, and colorectal cancers, whereas women’s risk profile is more diversified and variable between higher and lower income regions.
Cessation of smoking, healthy lifestyle and obesity reduction, exercise, awareness of environmental carcinogens such as asbestos, a healthy diet reducing processed food, reduction of alcohol intake are important in cancer in reduction in both men and women.
Tobacco and infection control (notably H. pylori, human papillomavirus, hepatitis B and C virus), reduction of alcohol consumption, and policies addressing excess body weight, physical inactivity, and air pollution should be top priorities, tailored to local patterns.
Wendy