World Cancer Day to eliminate inequalities
The pandemic is weighing on the delay in diagnosing and treating cancer patients. That is why on World Cancer Day it is important to remember not only the progress but also what remains to be done. The words of the president of Farmindustria, Massimo Scaccabarozzi, and the data of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology
Today is World Cancer Day which was established in 2000 to raise awareness and action in the fight against cancer. It is promoted by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and supported by the World Health Organization (WHO).
This year, the slogan chosen for the day is “Close the care gap”, that is, eliminating disparity and inequalities in the field of care. The main goal is to unify common efforts to reduce the impact the disease has on people's lives.
On the importance of prevention in the fight against cancer, the Minister of Health, Roberto Speranza, said : “It is particularly strategic to invest in prevention and research, supporting the scientific community in the fight against cancer”.
WHAT SCACCABAROZZI SAID
“There are over 1,300 projects under development in the world in the oncology sector”, said the president of Farmindustria , Massimo Scaccabarozzi on the occasion of World Cancer Day.
“Oncology is the first area of research globally, with a pipeline aimed at more than 40 types of cancer and with increasingly targeted and personalized therapies. And also in Italy it ranks first in terms of the number of authorized clinical trials. In fact, – explained the number one of Farmindustria – according to the latest Aifa data, the trials in the 'neoplasms' area in 2019 were 268 (40% of the total). Important results that testify on the one hand the great effort of the pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand the presence of a research ecosystem – from clinical centers to universities – of absolute value ".
“Focusing on Life Sciences and on a well-established and collaborative public-private network – concluded Scaccabarozzi – can represent a winning card to give the right weight to a strategic sector such as that of health. And it will also serve to attract new investments, considering that between 2020 and 2026, 1.6 trillion dollars will be spent on R&D worldwide ”.
Of these 1,600 billion dollars, Farmindustria says, 80% will be allocated to a network between different subjects (companies, public bodies, start-ups, science parks, clinical centers).
THE WEIGHT OF THE PANDEMIC
According to experts, the increase in serious cases of cancer was also favored by the delays in diagnosis and treatment accumulated during the long months of the pandemic. Oncologists, in fact, pointed to an increase in cases of advanced cancer, which makes them more difficult to treat.
The appeal is to intervene immediately with a specific Recovery Plan for oncology aimed at bridging the delays in assistance because "without adequate planning, with allocation of resources and personnel, oncologies will not be able to deal with the wave of advanced cases estimated in the coming months and years ".
The president of the Italian Association of Medical Oncology (Aiom), Saverio Cinieri, said : “Neoplasms, not detected in 2020, are now coming to light, but in more advanced stages and with worse prognosis than in the period before the pandemic. Furthermore, these pathologies also present a greater tumor burden, ie diffuse metastases, with clinical pictures that we have not seen for some time ".
"The new wave of the pandemic caused by the Omicron variant is putting the management of the oncology departments in crisis and the scheduled surgical activity has been suspended or slowed down, since intensive care is occupied by patients with Covid", concluded Cinieri.
THE NUMBERS
According to the estimates reported by oncologists, in 2020, new diagnoses of cancer were reduced by 11% compared to 2019, new drug treatments by 13%, surgical interventions by 18%.
Screenings for breast, cervical and colorectal cancer also saw a reduction of two and a half million tests.
Speaking of missed diagnoses, over 3,300 are reported for breast cancer, about 1,300 for colorectal, with oncological home care that was available only for 68% of specialized centers.
In Italy, approximately 377,000 new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year. Among the good news, there is a 5-year survival rate and between 2015 and 2021 there was also a 10% drop in cancer mortality in men and 8% in women.
WHICH SOLUTIONS?
Aiom with regard to how to intervene underlined that "impromptu initiatives as has happened so far, based on the opening and closing of departments in relation to the increase in the number of people infected by Covid" are not decisive, but rather "a medium and long term that implements hospital oncological activity ".
Meanwhile, the Association recalls the government's initiative to allocate 1 billion euros to recover the interventions and postponed visits. "But that's not enough – said Cinieri – If a recovery plan is not defined, with a real strengthening of personnel and structures, we risk not being able to manage the next epidemic of serious cancer cases".
WHAT STEPS FORWARD HAVE BEEN TAKEN
Farmindustria recalled that although the war against cancer was not won, "unique and unprecedented advances in the history of oncology" have been made. In recent years, we have moved, for example, from microscopic characterization to molecular characterization of tumors that allows us to "identify the Achilles heel of the tumor and prescribe the most targeted and personalized therapy for that neoplastic form".
Another step forward is liquid biopsy, a monitoring tool used not only for lung cancer but also for other cancers.
In terms of therapies, Farmindustria continues, "the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) is also present in the numerous clinical centers of excellence in our country, a team of specialists who comprehensively assess the tumor genome and prescribe the right therapy to the right patient. , at the right time, even outside traditional therapeutic schemes ".
And finally, through the screening of new therapeutic targets and the identification of biomarkers predicting neoplastic progression, research groups are also trying to obtain a more lasting clinical response in patients, even with immunotherapy.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/la-giornata-mondiale-contro-il-cancro-per-eliminare-le-disuguaglianze/ on Fri, 04 Feb 2022 14:27:16 +0000.