Cancer is a serious disease affecting millions of people worldwide, resulting in long-term health effects, financial challenges, and even death. According to the International Agency Research on Cancer (IARC), new cases were estimated at 19.3 million in 2020, a figure that will likely increase to 30.2 million by 2040¹. Cancer is expected to take the lives 16.3 million people worldwide by 2040 as well. As shown in the figure below, most of the new cases and deaths are expected to be in Asian countries. Unfortunately, one of the most common cancers in Asia and Africa is cervical cancer. As the IARC notes, cervical cancer is the fourth-most common cancer in women. However, it remains the most deadly; it’s the leading cause of cancer death of women in 42 “low-resource” countries, in stark contrast with the disease being the 19th-most common cause of death of women in Finland, a “high-resource” country². Such remarkable geographical contrasts reflect differences in exposure to risk factors – as well as serious inequalities in access to adequate screening and effective treatment facilities.5-year survival rates, which are often used as benchmarks for outcomes of those with different types of cancer, have improved dramatically over the last few decades. This is most likely due to significant advancements made in terms of early diagnostic methods, treatment procedures, and precision medicine. A 2019 study of global cancer research funding landscape showed that not-for-profit organizations collectively were responsible for about 49% of cancer research funding, followed by academic and research facilities. Furthermore, highly-developed countries are funding the majority of cancer research – with approximately 44% of the research funding originating in the United States³. Surprisingly, while breast cancer research receives the highest amount of funding, research funding for cervical cancer amounts to just 1% of breast cancer research. May is National Cancer Research month. During this month, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) partners with cancer centers, institutions, researchers, and physician-scientists to promote awareness and action on the prevention, treatment, and cure of all forms of cancer. President Biden also emphasized the renewed commitment to cancer prevention, improving treatment methods, and finding a cure through better research and diagnostics in a recent address to the nation. We at Dalrada Health are committed to reducing the burden of cervical cancer throughout the world and are dedicated to supporting research programs that help save lives – especially in high-risk countries like India.  

References:

1. Cancer Tomorrow (iarc.fr)
2. Marc Arbyn, Elisabete Weiderpass, Laia Bruni, Silvia de Sanjosé, Mona Saraiya,et al. Estimates of incidence and mortality of cervical cancer in 2018: a worldwide analysis. Lancet Glob Health 2020; 8: e191–203.
3. Anna Schmutz, Claire Salignat, Daria Plotkina, Amandine Devouassoux, Teresa Lee, Melina Arnold, Morten Ervik, Olaf Kelm, Mapping the Global Cancer Research Funding Landscape, JNCI Cancer Spectrum, Volume 3, Issue 4, December 2019, pkz069, https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkz069.
4. https://www.cancerhealth.com/article/cancers-better-funded-others
5. https://www.aacr.org/about-the-aacr/newsroom/initiatives-and-partnerships/national-cancer-research-month/presidential-message-recognizing-ncrm/?utm_source=salesforce-marketing-cloud&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SPGA+-+NCRM+Biden+Letter&utm_term=Biden+Letter+-+Button