Cancer care inequity for women in resource-poor countries

Abstract

Cervical, endometrial, and breast cancers are paradigms for global health disparity. The paucity of well-designed and -used cancer registries obstructs accurate assessment and planning for international agency resource allocation. Increasing rates of both smoking and obesity in resource-poor nations will lead to increases in the incidence of cancers in developing nations. Women residing in the developing world continue to present in later stages of disease and have fewer options for treatment than those in developed countries.

Keywords: Breast cancer; Cervical cancer; Endometrial cancer; Treatment inequity.

Figure 1

Many areas of the world have national or regional associations of cancer registries. These associations collaborate in setting methodological standards and publishing data on cancer incidence. They are a useful source of information on cancer and cancer registration. Reproduced with permission from Cancer Research UK.

Figure 2

Global distribution of cancer of the uterine cervix (crude incidence rates). Reproduced with permission from the International Agency for Research on Cancer.