Cancer screening and early diagnosis in low and middle income countries : Current situation and future perspectives.

Cancer screening and early diagnosis in low and middle income countries : Current situation and future perspectives. Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz. 2018 Oct 23;: Authors: Mandal R, Basu P Abstract Limited health system capacities and competing health priorities in low and middle income countries (LMICs) necessitate a pragmatic approach to population-based cancer screening. Thus, the challenges faced by LMICs to implement a 'western' model of screening for common cancers and the possible means to overcome these challenges are presented. Breast cancer is the number one cancer with a rising trend in the majority of LMICs. Implementation of mass-scale mammography-based screening is not feasible and sustainable in most of them. While some LMICs have introduced breast cancer screening based on clinical breast examination (CBE), the programs need to be of appropriate quality. All LMICs should improve the capacity for early diagnosis of breast cancer along with other common cancers through community education, training of frontline health workers, facilitating prompt referrals and improving the infrastructure for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Resources permitting, the LMICs with high burden of cervical cancer may consider human papillomavirus (HPV) detection-based screening; a simple low-cost alternative is visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Regardless of the choice, a strong linkage should be es...
Source: Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Bundesgesundheitsblatt Gesundheitsforschung Gesundheitsschutz Source Type: research