The lancet oncology
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The lancet oncology · Dec 2024
ReviewCancer care and outreach in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries: from epidemiology and the National Cancer Control Programme to screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
South Asian Association for Regional Collaboration (SAARC) countries, home to 24% of the world's population, are facing the double burden of disease (ie, where a population experiences both an increasing incidence of cancers typically associated with affluence and a sustained or rising burden of cancers linked to infections and poverty) with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) attributing to 47% of the global burden of disease and to about 60% of all deaths. In 2022, cancer in this region accounted for approximately 9·3% of incidence worldwide and 12% of global mortality. Cancer is one of the major NCDs affecting South Asia, accounting for a large proportion of disability-adjusted life-years lost in this region. ⋯ Here we discuss various cancer care issues and challenges throughout the cancer care continuum in the SAARC region. We make an urgent call for regional collaboration to develop, modify, and implement a holistic cancer control plan and formulate a systematic approach directed to address the growing burden of cancer in this region. It is crucial to establish strong political will and commitment to take forward the recommended actions outlined in this Series to overcome and address the cancer crisis in the SAARC region, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 2030 targets.
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The lancet oncology · Dec 2024
ReviewArtificial intelligence-aided data mining of medical records for cancer detection and screening.
The application of artificial intelligence methods to electronic patient records paves the way for large-scale analysis of multimodal data. Such population-wide data describing deep phenotypes composed of thousands of features are now being leveraged to create data-driven algorithms, which in turn has led to improved methods for early cancer detection and screening. Remaining challenges include establishment of infrastructures for prospective testing of such methods, ways to assess biases given the data, and gathering of sufficiently large and diverse datasets that reflect disease heterogeneities across populations. This Review provides an overview of artificial intelligence methods designed to detect cancer early, including key aspects of concern (eg, the problem of data drift-when the underlying health-care data change over time), ethical aspects, and discrepancies between access to cancer screening in high-income countries versus low-income and middle-income countries.
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The lancet oncology · Dec 2024
ReviewCancer research in South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries.
Cancer is a major global health threat, with 35 million new cases projected by 2050, predominantly in low-income and middle-income-countries. Within South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries, a notable gap in cancer research investment and output compared with high-income countries highlights the need to strengthen research capacity. The rising cancer incidence across SAARC countries is not being matched by local research, particularly in clinical trials in molecular biology, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and cancer vaccines. ⋯ Key challenges include disparities in health-care access, cultural and economic barriers, and little funding and infrastructure. Strengthening cancer research in SAARC countries requires building collaborative networks, improving research facilities and training, focusing on local epidemiological studies, and developing affordable technologies and treatments. Effective policy and stakeholder engagement could greatly advance cancer care in the region.
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The lancet oncology · Dec 2024
Meta Analysis Comparative StudyComparison of first-line chemotherapy regimens in unresectable locally advanced or metastatic pancreatic cancer: a systematic review and Bayesian network meta-analysis.
In advanced pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), first-line chemotherapy is the standard of care. Due to the absence of head-to-head comparisons in clinical trials, we performed this systematic review and network meta-analysis to compare treatment options for PDAC in terms of their efficacy and toxicity. ⋯ None.
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The lancet oncology · Dec 2024
ReviewNavigating the oncology drug discovery and development process with programmes supported by the National Institutes of Health.
The translation of basic drug discoveries from laboratories to clinical use presents substantial challenges. Factors such as insufficient funding, misdirected project focus, and inability to understand a drug's limitations or strengths contribute to the difficulty of this process. To address these issues, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has established various resources dedicated to streamlining drug development. ⋯ The NIH also provides access to key resources through various programmes, such as the Developmental Therapeutics Program, focusing on preclinical drug discovery and the Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program, which oversees clinical trial efforts for investigational agents. These resources might include funding opportunities, access to a network of scientific experts, and services to address gaps in scientific work. This Review explores the diverse platforms and resources available at the NIH and outlines how researchers can leverage them to expedite the drug development process.