World Cancer Day: Every day is a day for cancer prevention

03.02.2022 12:06

10 million people die from cancer every year.[1] In Germany, around 510,000 people become ill every year.[2] About half of cancer cases could be prevented. But the number of patients continues to rise [3] and the number of participants in prevention programs is falling.[4] [5] The Global Women's Health Index aims to provide an impetus to organize prevention programs for cancers that predominantly affect women more effectively. Reports of declining participation rates are alarming.

According to the World Health Organization, cancer causes 10 million deaths worldwide every year. She therefore calls on countries to increase their efforts in the fight against cancer.^[6] World Cancer Day, organized for the 22nd time on February 4th by the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), aims to draw even more attention in countries to the potential of cancer prevention and early detection. The UICC thus meets one of the central concerns of the Global Women's Health Index, which the company Hologic developed together with the world's leading opinion research institute Gallup.

The Global Women's Health Index makes it clear that much more attention must be paid to the physical, psychological and social limitations of women's health worldwide. Cancers in general, but especially gynecological cancers, are a central task for all programs that aim to improve women's health.

In Germany, breast cancer is still by far the most common cancer in women, with around 70,000 new cases every year. One in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime. At least thirty percent of the women affected are younger than 55 years old.^[7]

The other gynecological cancers (ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, cervical cancer, cancer of the vulva) add up to over 25,000 additional new cases every year.

Participation rates in prevention and early detection programs are a cause for concern. The health insurance companies generally report too little participation (approx. 50 %, for breast cancer and cervical cancer) - but there has also been a downward trend in recent years. To what extent this is due to the Corona crisis - women may have been afraid of infection in the gynecological practice or the radiology and screening centers^[8] – still has to be proven. However, there are some indications that other reasons also prevent women from taking part in mammography screening, for example: uncertainty about how to assess the result, fear of pain during the examination.^[9]

The doctor, Dr. Bettina Wolfgarten (Wolfgarten Radiology, Bonn) also agrees with her colleagues: “We doctors have to approach women even more actively and empathetically and take away their worries about false findings and their fear of pain during mammography. The modern technologies in the hands of highly professional and sensitive specialist staff have long been so advanced that such reservations are unfounded.”

Your colleague, Dr. Justine Dokoupil, added: “For cervical cancer, we have a screening program where women are only notified every five years. This cancer is almost completely preventable through regular participation in early detection. That’s why, for me, part of the fight against this disease is to encourage my patients to take part in screening in personal discussions.”

Global Women's Health Index methodology
The survey was conducted for the first time in 2020 as part of the Gallup World Poll, which has been used to determine the “will of the world” every year since 2005. The index results are based on interviews conducted in 2020 with nearly 120,000 people aged 15 and over in 116 countries and regions. The index provides information about the attitude to life and behavior of 2.5 billion women and girls.

The questions were developed and reviewed by global women's health experts at Hologic and Gallup. These consultants represent leading institutions and opinion leaders such as Johns Hopkins University, George Washington University, RAD-ADI and others. The index is based on the experiences of over 60,000 women and girls from 116 countries and regions in more than 140 languages.

credentials

^[1] World Health Organization. Cancer. September 2021. www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[2] Cancer Support. German Cancer Aid – Together against cancer. www.krebshilfe.de/deutsche-krebshilfe last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[3] Cancer Support. German Cancer Aid – Together against cancer. www.krebshilfe.de/deutsche-krebshilfe last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[4] Doctors newspaper. Mammography screening: participation rate fell significantly in 2020. July 21, 2021. www.aerztezeitung.de/Nachrichten last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[5] Commercial health insurance company (KKH). Fewer women are using female cancer screening. February 2, 2021. www.kkh.de/presse/pressemeldeen/krebssorge last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[6] World Health Organization. Cancer prevention and control in the context of an integrated approach. May 31, 2017. www.apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[7] All figures in this paragraph from Center for Cancer Registry Data: Cancer Data. Breast cancer (mammary carcinoma). www.krebsdaten.de/Krebs last accessed on January 26, 2022
^[8] Doctors newspaper. Corona pandemic is slowing down early cancer detection and follow-up care. January 31, 2022. www.aerztezeitung.de/Politics/Corona-Pandemic-Brems-Krebs-Fruehcognition-und-Nachsorge-aus-426436.html last accessed on February 1, 2022
^[9] Gyne. Mammography screening between the need for security and lasting uncertainty. July 2016. www.gyn-bielefeld.de last accessed on February 1, 2022