Following the success of the 2013 Lancet Oncology Commission on cancer care in Latin America [1], The Lancet Oncology today launches a second Commission on cancer in this region, highlighting the promising progress that has been made in just 2 years, but also the substantial barriers that remain to ensure all those that need cancer treatment and care receive optimal clinical management.
Overall cancer mortality in Latin American Countries is about twice that of more developed high-income countries, and ageing of the Latin American population, which will lead to more than 100 million people over 60 years by 2020 (roughly a sixth of the total population), will continue to increase cancer incidence in this region. About half of all cancers in Latin America are caused by smoke (tobacco and indoor cooking/heating) and infections, so it is imperative to urgently address these issues.
Since the 2013 Commission, the authors have identified a number of improvements in cancer care in Latin America, either specifically related to cancer or to general healthcare initiatives that will also benefit cancer patients, such as:
However, the authors say that despite this progress, major changes are needed in many areas to increase the standard of cancer treatment and care in Latin America. The following areas of concern have been identified:
The authors say: "To provide accessible, high quality cancer care, Latin American countries need to continue to work towards achieving true universal health care, which means equitable services and coverage for all patients. To achieve this goal, financial and political challenges must be overcome, and inefficient practices must be eliminated."
They add: "We have been surprised and gratified that so much progress has been made in only 2 years. Latin American states, some more than others, are in turmoil related to funding, organisation, and execution of cancer programmes. Nevertheless, what is widely evident in Latin America are the steps towards the restructuring of health-care systems, progress on development of cancer registries, adjustments to funding towards universal health care and support of the underserved, and initiation of programmes for primary cancer prevention."
They conclude: "We hope that future updates we undertake will show even greater alleviation of the overall cancer burden in Latin America."
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Commission has been produced by a team of authors across the Americas and the Caribbean, led by Professor Paul E Goss, The Avon Global Breast Cancer Center of Excellence, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, and The Global Cancer Institute (GCI), MA, USA.
[1] Planning cancer control in Latin America and the Caribbean, The Lancet Oncology , 2013. http://press.thelancet.com/LatinAmericaCommission2013.pdf or http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(13)70048-2/fulltext
[2] PAHO is the Pan American Healthcare Region, the specialized health agency of the Inter-American System and serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (WHO). Together with WHO, PAHO is a member of the United Nations system. http://www.paho.org/hq/
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