Cancer – Cancer burden in Africa and opportunities for prevention

Cancer is an emerging public health problem in Africa. About 715,000 new cancer cases and 542,000 cancer deaths occurred in 2008 on the continent, with these numbers expected to double in the next 20 years simply because of the aging and growth of the population.

This paper reviews the current patterns of cancer in Africa and the opportunities for reducing the burden through the application of resource level interventions, including implementation of vaccinations for liver and cervical cancers, tobacco control policies for smoking-related cancers, and low-tech early detection methods for cervical cancer, as well as pain relief at the palliative stage of cancer.

Cancer burden in Africa and opportunities for prevention
A Jemal, F Bray, D Forman, M O'Brien, J Ferlay, M Center, DM Parkin.
Cancer. 2012 Jan 17. doi: 10.1002/cncr.27410. [Epub ahead of print]Read more