Cancer control in low- and middle-income countries: the role of primary care physicians

Abstract

Cancer is among the most preventable and the most curable of the major chronic life-threatening diseases. As the cancer burden grows, it is evident that new approaches must be developed to more effectively manage the disease. Given their unique role, primary care physicians and health workers are critically important to these interventions and to the successful implementation of comprehensive cancer control strategies. In this article, an overview of the epidemiologic trends related to cancer is provided, several special circumstances affecting cancer control efforts in low- and middle-income countries are identified, and broad and specific approaches for primary care physicians and other primary care health workers to prevent and control cancer are recommended.