Section 1: Aims and Objectives

Aim

To learn how data about cancer is collected and used, to interpret secular and geographic variations in cancer burden, to understand the most common risk factors associated with cancer globally, and to appreciate how this disease can be prevented and controlled

Objectives

Define what we mean by cancer as a disease and how it might be diagnosed
Describe methods of cancer registration and how sources of data are used globally
Describe and explain the secular trends of common cancers over the last century in High Income Countries (HICs) and over the recent past in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs), appreciating the variation in burden across countries
List some of the proximal and distal causes of common cancers (including lifestyle, genetic, infectious and environmental)
Describe trends in relevant risk factors for common cancers globally, including the drivers of the cancer transition
Discuss methods of controlling or preventing cancer, including screening and other population-based interventions, describing some of the opportunities for prevention

A note about terminology of HIC (High Income Countries) and LMIC (Low and Middle Income Countries): these terms are used interchangeably here with developed and developing countries even though technically these terms may cover different individual countries. It should be understood that there is variability, within these over-arching terms, in the provision of and access to healthcare, but they give a useful means of classifying areas of the world.

This session was developed as a collaboration between the LSHTM and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.