Non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
Controlling cancer in developing countries: prevention and treatment strategies merit further study
What cancer control strategies are most effective in developing countries?
Authors:
Publisher:
Disease Control Priorities Project, Maryland, 2007
This paper, by the Disease Control Priorities Project, discusses the burden of cancer in developing countries. It also examines which types of cancers can be prevented and treated affordably in low-resource settings and which interventions can be used to control them. Primary prevention measures include: immunisation against or treatment of infectious agents associated with cancers; national tobacco and alcohol control programmes; and programmes to promote diets that include more fruits and vegetables and fewer harmful fats and processed foods.
The paper concludes that to guide policymakers on the most effective cancer control strategies in developing countries, more work is needed in the following areas: clinical evaluations of cancer control interventions, health services research, and country specific economic evaluations. It recommends that since current knowledge about cancer control is incomplete, developing countries should start in small areas and gain knowledge from well-documented pilot programmes. Starting small might entail focusing on individuals with certain high-risk characteristics or in a limited geographic area, and scaling up should occur only after pilot programmes have been shown to perform well.
