Premature deaths as a result of cancer is costing major emerging
economies tens of billions of dollars a year, a new United
Nations health study has found, underlining the need for
context-specific strategies for both prevention as well as
treatment for those suffering from the disease.
The economic impact of cancer in fast-developing economies not
only underlines the high cost of the disease in terms of the
lives it claims and the impact on the economy, but also
highlights the “urgency of tackling
preventable cancers in these countries,” said the study’s
lead author, Alison Pearce.
Published in the medical journal Cancer
Epidemiology, the study led by
the World Health Organization (WHO) cancer research
centre reveals that the total cost of lost productivity because
of premature cancer mortality for Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa – collectively known as BRICS countries – was
$46.3 billion in 2012 (the most recent year for which cancer
data was available for all these countries).
These countries together account for more than 40 per cent the
world’s population and a quarter of the global Gross Domestic
Product (GDP). However, these countries are also home to 42 per
cent of the global cancer deaths.
“Although they have diverse levels of wealth, and health
indicators, the BRICS countries have all undergone particularly
rapid demographic and economic growth,” noted the WHO
International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in a news
release announcing the findings.
These countries are all affected by infection-related cancers
as well as cancers associated with changing lifestyles such as
changes in diet, lack of physical activity, obesity and
reproductive patterns.
“Yet each of these countries has a distinct cancer profile, and
therefore a tailored approach to national cancer control policy
is required,” added IARC.
The largest productivity loss at $28 billion was recorded in
China, a country particularly affected by liver cancer, with
hepatitis B virus infections and exposure to aflatoxins primary
factors for the loss.
Lifestyle-related risk factors in Russia, South Africa and
Brazil – high consumption of alcohol, smoking and rapidly
increasing obesity, respectively, added to the factors causing
losses, noted the study.
In India, the use of chewing tobacco was a leading cause of
economic loss due to premature mortality from cancers of the
lip and oral cavity.
Policies to influence lifestyle changes and reduce cancer risk
are, therefore, critical, highlights IARC.
“The study demonstrates the economic importance of targeted
primary prevention activities embedded in national cancer
control policies. Focusing on tobacco control, vaccination
programmes, and cancer screening, combined with access to
adequate cancer treatment, would yield significant health and
economic gains for the BRICS countries,” said Christopher Wild,
the Director of IARC.
“Investing in evidence-based preventive interventions as a part
of national cancer control plans is not only cost-effective and
life-saving but also a powerful lever for sustainable economic
development.”
