Over this century, cancer is set to become the leading cause of premature death worldwide, being the biggest barrier to increasing life expectancy. IRAC estimates that the global cancer burden will rise from 19.3 million new cases in 2020 to 30.2 million in 2040. This is despite up to half of all cancer cases being avoidable. This rise will disproportionately impact low-and middle-income countries with a low Human Development Index.
To combat this impending personal, societal, and economic loss, prevention is vital to tackling the cancer epidemic.
The concept of cancer prevention hinges on several factors including describing the burden, identifying risk factors, and evaluating and implementing preventive interventions. It also must reflect that most cancers are, directly or indirectly, linked to environmental factors.
In this lecture, Dr Weiderpass, the Director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, will illustrate the great potential of prevention to invert the predicted trends in the future global cancer burden to reflect her vision of: “a world where fewer people develop cancer”.
About RSE
The RSE, Scotland’s National Academy, is an educational charity operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis to provide public benefit throughout Scotland.
www.rse.org.uk/
The Scottish Cancer Foundation
The Scottish Cancer Foundation was founded by two dedicated Cancer Researchers, Professor Sir Patrick Forrest, and Professor John Evans CBE, in 1997.
Their vision was to create a charity that would facilitate research aimed at addressing the high incidence of cancer in Scotland, and the poor outcomes in patients who develop the disease. Although there have been many improvements, a lot of work is still required, as cancer remains one of the major causes of premature death in the Scottish population.
scottishcancerfoundation.org.uk/