Activity Description
Low- and middle-income countries face challenges and opportunities in spending scarce resources on cancer control, from prevention, screening, and treatment, to relieving the pain and other symptoms that often accompany a death from cancer.
The cancer burden is growing in poorer countries, both in absolute terms--mainly because of gains in life expectancy and the evolving effects of smoking--and in relative terms, because of declines in deaths from infectious diseases. Depending upon the pattern of cancers in a given country, the level of resources available, and the existing infrastructure, countries may prioritize and act on cancer control in different ways.
The goal of this committee was to produce information for decision makers and the public on available interventions and approaches to cancer control and to lay out what is know about their effectiveness, costs, personnel and infrastructure requirements, and practicality across a range of economic settings.