Breast Cancer Guidelines Proposed for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Breast Cancer Guidelines Proposed for Low- and Middle-Income Countries

The April 1 issue of The BreastThe Breast Health Global Initiative (BHGI: see below), a global network of organizations dedicated to improving breast health in medically underserved women, published a supplement on challenges to breast cancer screening and treatment in low- and middle-income countries in the April 1 issue of The Breast. The supplement, “Global Breast Health Care: Optimizing Delivery in Low and Middle Resource Countries,” includes three consensus statements and 11 research papers based on projects and proposals presented last June at the BHGI Global Summit on International Breast Health in Chicago. The summit brought together experts from 43 countries.

Dr. Joe Harford and Isabel Otero of NCI’s Office of International Affairs co-authored one of the report’s consensus statements, entitled “Problem solving for breast health care delivery in low- and middle-resource countries (LMCs): consensus statement from the Breast Health Global Initiative.” The statement discusses the strengths and weaknesses of health care systems in those countries in relation to the cancer burden. The authors recommended an evidence-based approach to creating cost-effective cancer control initiatives in poorly studied populations.

The supplement illustrates a growing recognition of noncommunicable diseases, such as breast cancer, as substantial contributors to the disease burden in low- and middle-income countries, which are often not fully prepared to deal with growing incidence rates.

An executive summary of the consensus statements was published simultaneously in the April 1 issue of The Lancet Oncology.

“It is the hope of the authors that this consensus analysis will help scientists, policy-makers, and health care administrators optimize breast health care management in populations with limited resources,” said Ms. Otero. “The guidelines encourage the use of implementation science, qualitative and quantitative research, and cost-benefit analyses to guide the establishment or improvement of breast cancer control programs for the millions of underserved women around the world.”
NCI Cancer Bulletin for April 19, 2011 - National Cancer Institute

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▲ “Problem solving for breast health care delivery in low- and middle-resource countries (LMCs): consensus statement from the Breast Health Global Initiative.”
► http://oia.cancer.gov/Documents/12-1471.pdf