Fight Against The World'S Largest Cancer! WHO: Enable 60% Of Patients To Receive Early Diagnosis, With The Goal Of Saving 2.5 Million People By 2040!

According to data released by the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer, there were 2.26 million new cases of breast cancer worldwide in 2020, surpassing the 2.2 million cases of lung cancer. Breast cancer has replaced lung cancer as the number one cancer in the world. In China, there are about 420,000 new cases of breast cancer each year, with an earlier age of onset than in Western countries and a peak incidence at 45-55 years old.

As the global population grows and life expectancy increases, cancer will become more common. The number of new cancer cases is expected to increase dramatically in the coming decades, with the number of new cases worldwide increasing by nearly 50% by 2040 compared to 2020, the WHO said.

WHO has stated that 30-50% of cancers can now be prevented by avoiding risk factors. In addition, many cancers have a high probability of being cured if diagnosed early and treated appropriately.

Recently, in response to the dire situation of breast cancer, the world's number one cancer, the World Health Organization released a new program on breast cancer with the goal of saving the lives of 2.5 million breast cancer patients by 2040.

Currently, breast cancer is the first or second leading cause of cancer death in women in 95% of countries. However, breast cancer survival rates show general inequities between and within countries. The WHO reports that nearly 80% of breast and cervical cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said, "Countries with weaker health systems are struggling to cope with the growing burden of breast cancer. Breast cancer is now putting so much pressure on individuals, families, communities, health systems and economies that it must become a priority for ministries of health and governments everywhere."

The WHO's new Global Breast Cancer Plan recommends that countries implement the "three pillars of health promotion" to achieve the goals of early detection, timely diagnosis and comprehensive management of breast cancer.

The three pillars include:

01

Promote the early detection plan for breast cancer so that at least 60% of patients are diagnosed and treated at an early stage of the disease;

02

Diagnose breast cancer within 60 days of first presentation and ensure treatment is started within three months;

03

Ensure that at least 80% of patients complete the recommended treatment.

"Countries need to ensure that this plan is engaged and integrated into primary care," said Dr. Bente Mikkelsen, WHO's director of non-communicable diseases. This will not only support health promotion, but will enable women to seek and receive health services throughout the life cycle. When there is effective and sustainable management of primary care, we can truly see the pathway to universal health coverage."

Women's cancers, including breast cancer, can have a devastating impact on the next generation. A 2020 study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer indicates that an estimated 4.4 million women will die from cancer in 2020 and nearly 1 million children will be orphaned by cancer, 25% of whom will die from breast cancer. Children who lose their mothers to cancer experience a lifetime of health and educational disadvantage, which can trigger long-term social disruption and economic loss passed down through generations.

According to the WHO, the plan could prevent millions of women's cancer deaths, and those cancer deaths could have been prevented. This comes after the World Health Assembly passed a resolution in 2017 pushing for the same action to prevent and control breast cancer.

Since 2018, WHO has developed integrated management initiatives for women's and children's cancers, along with calls to eliminate cervical cancer, as well as to double survival rates for childhood cancers.

Experts are very positive about this and say, "combineing these initiatives will have the potential to 'reverse the generational damage caused by cancer' and save more than a million lives over the next decade."

WHO calls on governments, development partners, industry and individuals to do their part to close the care gap and end the harm of cancer to generations.