09 May 07

A global conference on cancer control in Africa, organised by Oxford University researchers, will bring together the Health Ministers of 22 African nations, the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the African Development Bank, African doctors, UK government officials, leading international oncologists, and every major global cancer organization and charity in London on 10-11 May.

Cancer causes more deaths each year worldwide than HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria combined. By 2020 15m new cases of cancer every year are predicted, the majority in developing countries. Africa will see over a million new cases a year, and is least able to cope in terms of health infrastructure.

To begin addressing the challenge, Oxford University's Africa-Oxford Cancer Consortium (AfrOx) has joined the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which has a global cancer programme called PACT (Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy), to organise the 'Cancer Control in Africa' conference. It is chaired by the Rt Hon Alan Milburn, former Secretary of State for Health, with the Rt Hon Hilary Benn,Secretary of State for International Development, as a key speaker.

'More than 70 per cent of all cancer deaths already occur in low- and middle-income countries,' said Professor David Kerr of AfrOx and Oxford's Department of Clinical Pharmacology, who initiated and organised the conference. 'This figure is rising due to increased life expectancy, increased tobacco use and chronic viral infection.

'Survival rates for cancer in the developing world are often less than half those of more developed countries, and there is little pain relief. In Africa, cancer is a sentence to a painful and distressing death.'

The conference will initiate an action plan for cancer control in Africa. Four aspects of care need to be put in place: prevention (through vaccination and education to change high-risk behaviours like smoking); early diagnosis and screening; treatment; and palliative care for the dying.

Radiotherapy is available in only 21 of Africa's 53 countries, or to less than 20 per cent of the total population. Lack of resources and basic infrastructure mean that millions of people have no access to cancer screening, early diagnosis, treatment or palliative care.

Over one third of cancer deaths in the developing world are due to preventable causes such as viral infection, poor nutrition and widespread tobacco use.

By holding the meeting in London, the organizers hope to place the African problem at the forefront of the global health agenda and enlist support and funding from European governments. AfrOx will play a leading role in bringing together relevant organizations and individuals with funds from government and private donors.

The Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP said: 'Cancer is no longer a disease of the developed world: it will soon become the newest epidemic in the developing world. Africa will be particularly hard hit because it lacks the basic infrastructure to cope with a big growth in cancer in the years to come. If we can pool expertise and resources we can save tens of thousands of lives.'

Massoud Samiei, Head of the IAEA's Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT), says: 'Across much of Africa, there is almost no cancer prevention or public education, and radiotherapy, which is used effectively on more than 50 per cent of cancer patients in high-income countries, is simply unavailable to millions of cancer sufferers.'

Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, says: 'As poverty declines, people are living longer, healthier lives. But there is no doubt that the developing world is facing new health challenges. Diseases such as cancer that have traditionally been associated with richer countries are increasingly common.'