Pakistan Oral Cancer Collaborative: analyzing barriers and obstacles to oral cancer diagnosis, treatment, and prevention in Pakistan

Abstract

Oral cancer is a global health problem with increasing case numbers worldwide and no significant improvement in prognosis over the last few decades. It is one of the most common cancers and a leading cause of death in Pakistan, although the number reported is significantly underreported owing to the lack of a national cancer repository, and the true magnitude of this challenge is not known. Bilateral discussions and workshops funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund brought together a number of like-minded researchers and clinicians from the United Kingdom and Pakistan to analyze the status quo and plan the future course. This article reviews some of these discussions as well as barriers to oral cancer diagnosis in Pakistan and makes recommendations to investigate the magnitude and develop measures that may help tackle this devastating disease.