Worldwide Burden of Gynecological Cancer

Abstract

Cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalenceare commonly used indicators of cancer burden. Estimation of cancer burden is valuable for the formulation of cancer control policies and planning health services. The sources and methods of estimation of global data and the worldwide burden of gynecological cancers (malignant neoplasm of uterine cervix, corpus, ovary, vagina, vulva, and placenta) are described. Cervical cancer accounted for 487,300 new cases and 269,500 deaths; uterine corpus cancer for 233,300 new cases and 61,400 deaths; ovarian cancer for 230,000 new cases and 140,100 deaths; cancers of the vagina, vulva, placenta, and ill-defined sites together constituted 74,900 cases. Less developed countries accounted for more than 80% of the cervical cancer cases while almost 60% of uterine corpus cases occurred in the developed world. Earnest implementation of current developments in screening and vaccination has the potential to dramatically reduce the burden of cervical cancer. The differences in the outcome of cancer treatment across the world are due to vast disparities in health service infrastructures, human resources, service delivery, and accessibility to services. A significant proportion of patients are unable to access and avail or complete preventive, diagnostic, and therapy services in many countries due to inadequate health care services and financing. Formulation and translation of appropriate cancer control policies and investments in awareness creation, human resources development, and healthcare infrastructure are vital to reduce the current burden of gynecological cancer in low- and medium-resource countries. On the other hand, attention should be focused on emerging cost-effective options to sustain and further improve current control prospects in the developed world.