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Guidelines for cancer treatment in low-income
countries.
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| Article Type: | Brief article |
| Subject: |
Developing countries
(Health aspects) Tamoxifen (Usage) Cancer (Care and treatment) Cancer (Standards) |
| Pub Date: | 11/01/2010 |
| Publication: | Name: Reproductive Health Matters Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers Audience: General Format: Magazine/Journal Subject: Family and marriage; Health; Women's issues/gender studies Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2010 Reproductive Health Matters ISSN: 0968-8080 |
| Issue: | Date: Nov, 2010 Source Volume: 18 Source Issue: 36 |
| Topic: | Event Code: 350 Product standards, safety, & recalls |
| Product: | Product Code: 8000432 Cancer Therapy NAICS Code: 621 Ambulatory Health Care Services |
| Organization: | Organization: World Health Organization |
| Geographic: | Geographic Scope: Ghana Geographic Code: 0DEVE Developing Countries; 6GHAN Ghana |
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| Accession Number: | 247520215 |
| Full Text: |
The WHO has estimated that the global cancer burden will increase
from 10 million new cases per year in 2000 to 16 million by 2020, of
which 70% will be in the developing world. In high-income countries,
there is public debate surrounding the licensing of expensive new
anti-cancer agents, many of which are associated with marginal clinical
benefits. Yet in low-income countries the simplest generic treatment is
not available. Very little has been done to develop evidence-based
guidelines for cost-effective cancer treatment or recommended
therapeutic algorithms for use in poorly funded health systems. An
interdisciplinary task force is needed to develop such guidelines,
including oncologists, health economists, and clinical pharmacologists.
Where data are lacking, this group could recommend clinical trials and
studies needed to fill gaps. Specific problems could still be solved
through "lateral thinking": for instance, the Africa Oxford
Cancer Foundation is planning a trial of nurse-dispensed tamoxifen for
Ghanaian women over 50 who, at informal breast-examination clinics held
in village churches, have breast lumps that are clinically adjudged to
be cancer. This will lead to over-treatment of some women, who may not
have cancer, but tamoxifen is a safe drug with some chance of palliative
benefit to women who cannot afford formal health care. More could also
be made of innovative open-access projects to help refine treatment
regimens for people in developing countries with cancer. (1) (1.) Kerr DJ, Midgley R. Can we treat cancer for a dollar a day? Guidelines for low-income countries. New England Journal of Medicine 2010;363(9): 801-03. |
| Gale Copyright: | Copyright 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved. |
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