Global burden of women’s cancers

Every year, more than 2 million women worldwide are diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer, yet where a woman lives, her socioeconomic status, and agency largely determine whether she will develop one of these cancers and will ultimately survive.

In regions with scarce resources, fragile or fragmented health systems, cancer contributes to the cycle of poverty. Proven and cost-effective interventions are available for both these common cancers, yet for so many women access to these is beyond reach. These inequities highlight the need in low –income and middle-income countries for sustainable investments in the entire continuum of cancer control from prevention through to palliative care and in the development of high quality population-based cancer registries.

Ophira Ginsburg et al (2017  The global burden of women’s cancers: a grand challenge in global health. The Lancet Vol 389, No 10071 p847 860