250,000 premature cancer deaths averted through quality care

Sharjah conference sees experts discuss successes and way forward on treatment

Health professionals called for studying the demographics of the Gulf region to design effective cancer screening programmes, on the second day of the fifth Combined Global Cancer Conference (CGCC) in Sharjah yesterday.

Panellists called for more research data focused on populations from the region, significantly younger compared to the West whose data is the base for most international protocols.

Elfatih Abdul Raheem, HIV, Health and Development Policy Specialist, UNDP — Turkey, highlighted the significance of governments investing in public health.

“More than 250,000 premature deaths were averted in the GCC within the last 15 years, thanks to increased government spending and investments in cancer care” he said. “This is according to data based on six extensive studies conducted to assess the socio-economic impact of noncommunicable diseases [NCD] within GCC countries.”

Economists must advocate for diseasespecific interventions looking at social benefits including lives saved as return on investment.”

Elfatih Abdul Raheem | HIV, Health and Development Policy Specialist, UNDP — Turkey

Why invest in cancer care?

Abdelraheem stressed that developing economies are affected by cancer premature deaths as youth are the pillars of their workforce. “Economists must advocate for disease-specific interventions looking at social benefits including lives saved as return on investment,” he said.

Dr Mushabab Ali Asiri, Head of Saudi National Cancer Institute, referenced Saudi Arabia’s plan to provide all residents with early detection through government health centres in the next two years.

“There was a decrease in death rate by 29 per cent between 1991 and 2017. Also, 20 per cent improvement was noted in the five-year survival rate for all types of cancer, and many cancer patients are able to continue their lives much more than five years after being diagnosed with cancer,” Dr Asiri said.

The Covid impact

Screening systems across the world went through a crisis during Covid-19, said Giles Davies, Director of Surgery, Cromwell Hospital – UK. “While screenings were stopped for a few years, it also helped to streamline procedures through integrated processes like multidisciplinary decision-making. Hospitals should focus on patient-centric metrics and profiling the wider population,” he added.

Social acceptance

The conference also focused on the barriers and opportunities for the medical sector in achieving more awareness and mobilising more population towards regular screening activities.

Dr Omniyat Al Hajeri, Executive Director of Community Health Sector (ADPHC) - UAE, shared her experiences of conducting screening processes, while Dr Aydha Al Awadhi, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Tawam Hospital, UAE, highlighted the different tiers of medical care available in the country.”