Five Newspapers in Lancet Unveil Cancer Barriers and Solutions in South Asia - Video

A series of five papers, published in The Lancet Oncology by a University of Pittsburgh-led international team, highlights critical public health challenges related to cancer control in the eight countries that form the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh. The series underscores barriers contributing to significant disparities in cancer outcomes and identifies actionable solutions to address these challenges in one of the most comprehensive efforts to understand this region’s cancer burden.

The papers call for a comprehensive, coordinated approach to address the cancer burden in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.

Although cancer incidence rates in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries are lower compared to the rest of the world, mortality rates are higher. Cancer incidence is on the rise, with lung, breast, oral and cervical cancers the most common. This is largely due to late-stage diagnoses because of a severe shortage of early detection programs, limited access to treatments and inadequate healthcare infrastructure.

In the series of papers, researchers describe barriers specific to each South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation country and those that are common across the region. These include a lack of awareness about cancer symptoms, risk factors such as smoking and chewing betel nut, cultural stigmas, myths that cancer is untreatable or contagious, lack of access to healthcare facilities in rural and remote areas, financial difficulties faced by many patients and their families and insufficient government investment in cancer care.

A major barrier to cancer care is the shortage of trained cancer care professionals in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation nations — including oncologists, medical physicists, radiation technologists and oncology nurses —driven by insufficient educational and training programs. Additionally, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries face disparities in cancer research funding and a lack of infrastructure to support large-scale comprehensive cancer treatment efforts.

Other key recommendations include expanding cancer registries to improve data collection that will inform policy decisions for cancer control efforts and strengthen research capacity; launching public health campaigns to promote prevention; promoting early detection and awareness of cancer risk factors; and fostering regional collaboration and partnerships to ensure better access to cancer treatment. The papers emphasize that regional networks could play a significant role in advocacy and resource mobilization, particularly for countries with limited health care budgets.

Reference: 1. Cancer care and outreach in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region: overcoming barriers and addressing challenges, Huq, M Saiful et al. The Lancet Oncology, Volume 25, Issue 12, e650 - e662

2. Cancer care and outreach in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries: from epidemiology and the National Cancer Control Programme to screening, diagnosis, and treatment, Huq, M Saiful et al. The Lancet Oncology, Volume 25, Issue 12, e639 - e649

3. Cancer education and training within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, Huq, M Saiful et al. The Lancet Oncology, Volume 25, Issue 12, e663 - e674

4. Cancer research in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, Huq, M Saiful et al. The Lancet Oncology, Volume 25, Issue 12, e675 - e684

5. Cancer prevention, care, and outreach among the Rohingya refugee population in Bangladesh. Chowdhury, Mohiuddin A K et al. The Lancet Oncology, Volume 25, Issue 12, 1533 - 1536