Schedule 2022

Cancer occurrences, causes, outcomes and control measures differ markedly within countries in Europe. However, these differences are not neutral in nature but instead frequently reflect social inequalities in the distribution of cancer risk factors and access to prevention measures, early detection, treatment, and care, with a consequent impact on survival and quality of life after a cancer diagnosis.

This session aims to raise awareness of these inequities and be the starting point of a discussion about how these can be addressed.

This session will promote the concept that Precision Medicine encompasses therapeutic, preventive, and public policy aspects in the region. It will also unify the language on Precision Medicine, collating the different interpretations that exist of it, transforming the term into a tool for exchange and progress.

By combining these objectives, four of the targets of the World Cancer Declaration will be included: strengthening of health systems, universal access to screening and early detection, improving access to services across the cancer care continuum, and improving education and training of health care professionals.

Advancing Universal Health Coverage and cancer prevention and control are fundamental health goals with significant overlap: ideally, progress towards either goal should advance progress towards the other. Understanding the synergies between universal health coverage and cancer prevention and control is critical for cancer strategy, policy and advocacy professionals, and a priority for all countries working towards cancer prevention and control, and universal health coverage, in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The tools to advance UHC may be similarly utilised in cancer prevention and control, and in this session we will explore the common legal, regulatory, financial and advocacy approaches to advancing universal health coverage and cancer prevention and control, with a focus on access to palliative care in UHC and cancer treatment, the impact of UHC legislation on cancer control, and advocacy for UHC and cancer control reform, in service of the overarching goal of the World Cancer Declaration to improve quality of life and cancer survival rates.

The session will be interactive, with a live Q&A session, and the ability for audience members to submit questions online, participate in a quiz and respond to polls.

The substantial progress in cancer treatment and care is being significantly undermined with the growing threat of drug-resistant bacteria. People with cancer are more susceptible to infections due to the lowering of immune defenses, while surgery and treatments like bone marrow transplants, radiotherapy and chemotherapy put the immune system under immense pressure. As many as 1 in 5 cancer patients undergoing treatment are hospitalized due to infection, and antibiotics are the main line of defense. Furthermore, infections are the second leading cause of death in cancer patients. One of the targets of the World Cancer Declaration (Target #07) is to improve access to accurate cancer diagnostics and multimodal treatment, and this must include access to rapid diagnostics and antimicrobials to address infections, which is a crucial part of cancer treatment.

The aim of this session is to raise awareness on the threat of AMR for cancer patients and also highlight the need for infection control, rational use of drugs and access to appropriate and timely treatment.

Cervical cancer causes more than 300,000 deaths every year. The HPV vaccine has the potential to prevent them. Yet its uptake has been less than ideal, because of challenges in providing the vaccine, but also in the acceptance of the vaccine. Because HPV is most often sexually, some people believe that immunisation will encourage unsafe sexual practices in young people.

There is little evidence that young people make decisions about sexual activity based on cancer risks. In order to increase uptake of the vaccine, many have suggested making vaccination a requirement for school entry in middle school. The recent experience with the COVID-19 vaccine has made compulsory vaccination more palatable.

Is it justifiable to make HPV vaccine mandatory to all males and females to reduce the deaths from cervical cancer worldwide?

The purpose of this session is to describe the CIRGO coalition's model for cancer care research and to share recent findings from implementation research projects funded through CIRGO grants. A group of investigators from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) will participate in a facilitated panel discussion. The aim is to foster discourse and encourage implementation of science research for cancer in LMICs.

One of the targets of the World Cancer Declaration (Target #07) is to improve access to accurate cancer diagnostics and multimodal treatment, including affordable essential medicines for cancer care. However, access to these medicines remains a complex global issue, with a disproportionate burden on low- and middle- income countries. Several initiatives have been launched to improve access to medicines for cancer treatment. These initiatives include but are not limited to; advocacy to promote Universal Health Coverage for essential cancer medicines through national Ministries of Health (MoH), improving access to medicines through innovative approaches to voluntary licencing and patent pooling, medicines access programs with pharmaceutical partnerships.

The aim of this session is to highlight the landscape of access initiatives globally and provide lessons for scaling up cancer medicines access.

Can you imagine a world without cancer? For the first time in human history, the elimination of a cancer – cervical cancer – is possible. An action of this scale has the power to shape history: a movement so forceful it is referred to as a ‘moonshot’. When NASA sent man to the moon we were presented with a literal moonshot, but Conquering Cancer is not a journey to the moon, it’s a journey to the future.

Conquering Cancer is a definitive feature documentary with a soaring ambition: to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer for every women and girl. It is a passionate appeal from experts, activists and survivors. A vivid, poetic and searing plea for action. Travelling from Australia to Malaysia; Zambia to the USA; Colombia to Switzerland, Conquering Cancer declares a deep divide. Just as we are buoyed by the innovations paving the way to global elimination, we are confronted with the health and economic grip cervical cancer is having on the world’s poorest women.

The story opens in a damp, multi-bed hospital ward, tinged with heat and heartache, a 30-year old Sri Lankan women is looking to the skies and praying for life. At her side are a team of anguished doctors, who know that if she lived somewhere like Australia, her fate might be different. At a time when cervical cancer is on the brink of elimination but more than 300,000 women are still lost to the preventable disease each year, it is urgent that governments across the world prioritise cervical cancer control. In 2018, the World Health Organization called for global action to end cervical cancer this century. By doing so, it is estimated that 62 million lives could be saved.

Conquering Cancer introduces us to the inspiring medical professionals championing the global push to eliminate cervical cancer; the policymakers who are bringing prevention programs to their regions; and the women who have faced cervical cancer head-on and have emerged furiously, ready to take action against this needless disease. We are moved by their emotional narratives, as they speak candidly about treatment and recovery; tragedy and hope. Theirs is a story of extraordinary determination and heart.
When a woman dies from cervical cancer, the repercussions are immense, causing a ripple effect throughout her community. The burden affects not only the woman, but everyone in her orbit – her sisters, her brothers, her children and grandchildren. Today, failure to eliminate cervical cancer is not an option; we have the tools and the know-how to achieve this incredible feat. Now our task is to get it done.
Brimming with warmth and wonder, strength and sensitivity, Conquering Cancer knits a triumphant message: through political and financial commitment from the global community, we can overcome the impossible and eliminate this preventable disease for the next generation. The film is a salute to those who work in the field, a celebration of how far we have come, a cry for how far we have to go and a piercing call to action.

As specified in Target 09 of the World Cancer Declaration 2013, “Innovative education and training opportunities for healthcare professionals in all disciplines of cancer control will have improved significantly, particularly in low- and middle-income countries”. The role of primary care professionals (PCPs), especially general practitioners and community health nurses, is important at all stages of cancer care from prevention to palliation. Primary care professionals provide continuity of care and a link to appropriate specialist care. Primary care professionals play a critical role in cancer care, but they are often not considered when establishing Cancer Control Plans. In this session we propose to present and discuss about some successful experiences of cancer education and training in primary care that are appropriate in their content, have an approach that is consistent with good adult learning principles, and encourage multidisciplinary care. As a proof of concept, we will discuss about two experiences in two different cities.

The 2020 WHO report on cancer notes that “Every year, effective cancer control is delayed, the response becomes more expensive, the preventable loss of life increases, and economic and human development remain stifled.” While investment in national cancer control is critical to address cancer as a leading cause of disease, the level of resources allocated to cancer control programmes is insufficient in many, if not most, countries around the world. Some of the common challenges are:  

• A misconception that comprehensive cancer control is invariably too expensive, particularly for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).
• A lack of awareness of resource-stratified guidance for affordable and sustainable cancer control strategies to approach outcomes that have already been achieved in high-resource settings.
• The horizons for seeing a ‘return on investment’ in cancer are too long for political and budgetary cycles, meaning that Governments (and particularly Ministries of Finance) are inclined to invest in ‘quick wins’ to build political capital.
• Poor awareness of and uptake of technical guidance and tools including leapfrog technologies to achieve fundamental goals in cancer control. Governments and advocates are not necessarily aware of, or utilising, the resources that have been developed to support cost effective and high impact cancer interventions in their national context.
• International support, particularly financial support, continues to be dominated by MDG-era priorities. While this is starting to change with a growing focus on integration across health areas, there remains a focus on communicable diseases, with international development aid to NCDs lagging far behind.    

Failure to implement proven interventions is a missed opportunity to achieve the 30% mortality reduction in NCDs set out in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Implementing the WHO Best Buys for example, could achieve a 15% reduction in premature mortality by 2030 for an additional $1.27 investment per person per year in LLMICs. For cancer, estimates suggest that only US$ 2.70 is needed per person in LIC, rising to US$ 3.95 per person in LMIC and US$ 8.15 per person in upper to middle-income countries to reduce the cancer burden by 2030.

There is a clear need to increase the investment in cost-effective and evidence-based measures for cancer in order to save lives, protect communities and support economic and human development. International efforts to achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) provide an opportune vehicle for advocacy to ensure that cancer is included in benefits packages, where evidence suggests that a stepwise approach to cancer investment using public, pre-paid and compulsory health financing is the most successful strategy for progressing towards UHC.

Unfortunately, however, while growth in national GDP has delivered an increases in public spending on health, few countries have seen a relative increase in health as a percentage of GDP spent. Therefore, in this WHO-UICC policy dialogue, participants will discuss what approaches and tools can be used to support advocacy for increased investment in cancer control.

Palliative care has been shown to improve the quality of life of cancer patients and in some cases to have a mortality benefit. Yet it remains inaccessible to most cancer patients in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This session will describe experiences and challenges in scaling up palliative care training in LMICs as a necessary step to increase palliative care access. This session will help to achieve World Cancer Declaration target 7 (on access to quality palliative care) and target 8 (on effective pain control and distress management).