The threat to human and economic development posed by the growing burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries is widely recognized. The United Nations (UN), its specialized health agencies, as well as major non-governmental organizations emphasize the critical importance of improved monitoring of cancer incidence and survival as well as mortality at national and regional levels in order to generate evidence to develop effective strategies for cancer prevention and control. This has been reasserted at the recent UN high-level meeting on Non-Communicable Diseases (September 2011).
Cancer is now one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an estimated 12.7 million new cases and 7.6 million deaths in 2008. With over 7 million of these new cases and 4.8 million of the deaths, the developing world is bearing over half of this burden, but is the least equipped to cope with this situation. Cancer in developing countries is also more likely to be diagnosed at a later stage and, therefore, be less responsive to treatment.
The Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (GICR) convened by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and backed by several international organizations aims at developing –and creating where needed– the capacity to produce reliable, high-quality information on the burden of cancer so that effective policies for cancer control may be developed and implemented.
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