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Review
. 2022 Jan 11:11:782581.
doi: 10.3389/fonc.2021.782581. eCollection 2021.

Overview of Cancer Control in Armenia and Policy Implications

Karen Bedirian  1 , Tigran Aghabekyan  1   2 , Arianna Mesrobian  1 , Shant Shekherdimian  3   4   5   6 , Davit Zohrabyan  7   8 , Liana Safaryan  7   8 , Lilit Sargsyan  1   9   10 , Armen Avagyan  7   11   12 , Lilit Harutyunyan  7   11   13 , Astghik Voskanyan  14 , Artashes Tadevosyan  15 , Davit Melik-Nubaryan  15   16 , Parandzem Khachatryan  17   18 , Tatul Saghatelyan  7   19 , Mher Kostanyan  7   20 , Hovhannes Vardevanyan  21 , Marine Hovhannisyan  22 , Tamara Sarkisian  23   24 , Karine Sargsyan  23   25   26 , Davit Babikyan  22   27 , Armen Tananyan  7 , Samvel Danielyan  12   28 , Armen Muradyan  29 , Gevorg Tamamyan  1   9   10   30 , Samvel Bardakhchyan  7   8
Affiliations
Review

Overview of Cancer Control in Armenia and Policy Implications

Karen Bedirian et al. Front Oncol. .

Abstract

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Armenia. Over the past two decades, the country has seen a significant rise in cancer morbidity and mortality. This review aims to provide up-to-date info about the state of cancer control in Armenia and identify priority areas of research. The paper analyzes published literature and local and international statistical reports on Armenia and similar countries to put numbers into context. While cancer detection, diagnosis, and treatment are improving, the prevalence of risk factors is still quite high and smoking is widespread. Early detection rates are low and several important screening programs are absent. Diagnosis and treatment methods are not standardized; there is a lack of treatment accessibility due to insufficient government coverage and limited availability of essential medicines. Overall, there is room for improvement in this sector, as research is limited and multidisciplinary approaches to the topic are rare.

Keywords: Armenia; cancer epidemiology; cancer policy; cancer prevention; cancer risk factors; cancer treatment; developing countries; early detection of cancer.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) Proportion of new cases by cancer type in Armenia in 2019a. (B) Proportion of prevalent cases by cancer type in Armenia in 2019a. aData are adapted from the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia: Health and Healthcare 2020 (3).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Trends in the crude cancer incidence rate and the crude cancer mortality rate from 1991 to 2019 in Armenia, per 100,000 peoplea. aData are adapted from the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia: Health and Healthcare 2020 (3) and the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia 1993-1994, 1995-1996, 2001, 2004, and 2009 (–27). *Indicates that the Annual Percent Change (APC) is significantly different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Trends in the crude cancer prevalence rate from 1991 to 2019 in Armenia, per 100,000 peoplea. aData are adapted from the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia: Health and Healthcare 2020 (3). *Indicates that the Annual Percent Change (APC) is significantly different from zero at the alpha = 0.05 level.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Trends in the incidence of frequently encountered cancers (2012-2019) in Armenia, rate per 100,000 peoplea. aData are adapted from the Statistical Yearbook of Armenia: Health and Healthcare, for the years 2014-2020 (3, 28, 29).
Figure 5
Figure 5
The treatment journey of a cancer patient in Armenia. This diagram aims to highlight the multiple referrals that occur in a patient’s treatment process. Not all patients go through the same process and in the same order.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Timeline of major events in the development of cancer care in Armenia.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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