The IAEA is stepping up efforts to help more patients survive cancer through earlier diagnosis and better treatment. Cancer is fast emerging from years as a hidden health threat in the developing world -- cases are rising dramatically. Trends are spotlighting the lack of radiotherapy and other effective treatment methods to save lives.
The rapid rise of cancer in developing countries is attributed mainly to the population's increasing life expectancy, as aging men and women become more likely to develop the disease. Men are most likely to suffer liver and esophagus tumours, while women are prone to develop cervical cancer. Medical experts foresee a doubling of cancer cases in the developing world over the next ten years, from five million today to ten million in 2015.
Through IAEA-supported projects, some national medical authorities are becoming better equipped to help patients beat cancer. Modern radiotherapy facilities to treat patients have been set up for the first time in several countries, including Ghana, Ethiopia, Namibia, and Uganda, while second centers have been added in Nigeria and Sudan. Additionally, under a regional agreement in Africa, called AFRA, eighteen countries are working together to improve clinical radiotherapy through training seminars and other support designed to build up expertise and treatment capabilties.
Regional projects in east and southeastern Europe are assisting other countries, many of them emerging from years of conflict and economic hardships. In most cases, these countries retained medical expertise but need to re-build or upgrade radiotherapy facilities. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, the radiotherapy department at the Institute of Oncology in Sarajevo was revived and modernized with IAEA support. The only radiotherapy center in the country, the Sarajevo institute today treats 1100 cancer patients, about a fifth of the estimated 5000 cancer victims in the country.
A particular focus of IAEA efforts is training. Through an agreement with the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ESTRO), hundreds of professionals involved in IAEA projects in Europe have taken specialized courses in the fields of radiation oncology and medical radiation physics.
The need for modern equipment and qualified professionals -- ranging from radiotherapy technicians to health physicists and maintenance engineers -- is projected to heighten considerably in years ahead as steps intensify to combat cancer's toll in developing countries. An overriding aim is to help set up comprehensive national cancer control programmes that include integrated prevention and treatment approaches. Studies show that in advanced countries with such programmes, the investment pays off -- about 45% of all cancers are cured.