Cancer control measures have prevented 230,000 deaths in Australia since cancer mortality rates peaked in the mid-1980s, recent research from the Cancer Council Victoria has revealed.
The researchers used data from the World Health Organization’s Global Cancer Observatory, and compared the real-world data to an estimate of the number of cancer deaths that would have occurred in a growing and ageing population under a scenario where cancer mortality rates had remained at their peak.
The results revealed that nearly a quarter of a million deaths have been prevented, and the researchers say that we are seeing the benefits of investments made in cancer control over the many decades.
“This study quantifies Australian public health successes in tobacco control, skin cancer prevention, the HPV vaccine which prevents cervical and other cancers, and screening programs for breast, bowel and cervical cancer,” Professor Terry Slevin, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, who published the paper, told the AusSMC.
“The challenge is to continue and bolster these successful programs, bring in new initiatives, like lung cancer screening which has just commenced, and do more to reduce known risk factors like obesity,” he said.
The study found that the greatest number of cancer-related deaths that have been averted since the 1950s was for stomach cancer, which the authors attribute to the increase in the use of refrigeration for safe food storage, which has led to people eating less salt-preserved food.
It also revealed that breast, cervix, and colorectal cancers have dropped due to improved screening, and lung cancer rates have dropped in part thanks to a reduction in smoke from indoor fires and tobacco control.
According to Professor Bernard Stewart from the University of New South Wales, and scientific advisor to the Cancer Council Australia, each type of cancer must be considered separately to reveal specific achievements or lack of achievements in prevention and control.
“Frustratingly, specific progress for one type of cancer is rarely applicable to all tumour types, illustrating what an insidious disease cancer is,” he said.
When considering liver cancer, the study found that Australia has not seen the same improvement that other cancers have.
“Liver cancer deaths have more than tripled since the 1980s, mainly due to obesity, alcohol use, and metabolic disease,” Professor Adrian Esterman from the University of South Australia told the AusSMC.
Given the large number of avoided cancer deaths highlighted in the study, the authors emphasise the importance of continued investment in cancer control, including primary prevention and the development of new treatments.
You can read the full AusSMC Expert Reaction here.
This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.
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