Current and future burden of female breast cancer in the Middle East and North Africa region using estimates from GLOBOCAN 2022.

Breast cancer is the most diagnosed female cancer and the most common cause of cancer death in women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In this study, we aimed to describe the current patterns of breast cancer among women in the MENA region and estimate the burden for the year 2050. We used the estimates of the breast cancer incidence and mortality from the GLOBOCAN 2022 database and predicted the burden of breast cancer in 2050 according to different scenarios.

Cancer Research in Vulnerable Populations: A Call for Collaboration and Sustainability From MENAT Countries.

Purpose: Cancer is a major burden across Middle East, North Africa, Türkiye (MENAT). Many MENAT countries experience multiple conflicts that compound vulnerabilities, but little research investigates the linkages between vulnerability and cancer research. This study examines the current level and the potential for cancer research among vulnerable populations in the MENAT region, aiming to provide direction toward developing a research agenda on the region's vulnerable populations.

The burden of ischemic heart disease and the epidemiologic transition in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: 1990-2019.

It has been estimated that in the next decade, IHD prevalence, DALYs and deaths will increase more significantly in EMR than in any other region of the world. This study aims to provide a comprehensive description of the trends in the burden of ischemic heart disease (IHD) across the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) from 1990 to 2019. Data on IHD prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), mortality, DALYs attributable to risk factors, healthcare access and quality index (HAQ), and universal health coverage (UHC) were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) database for EMR countries.

Trends in the burden and determinants of hypertensive heart disease in the Eastern Mediterranean region, 1990-2019: an analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Background: Hypertensive heart disease (HHD), one of the end-organ damage consequences of hypertension, is an important public health issue worldwide. Data on the HHD burden in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) are scarce. We aimed to investigate the burden of HHD in the EMR, its member countries, and globally from 1990 to 2019.

Changes in the burden and underlying causes of heart failure in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, 1990-2019: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Background: The burden of heart failure (HF) is high globally, but information on its burden in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) is limited. This study provides a systematic analysis of the burden and underlying causes of HF in the EMR, including at the country level, between 1990 and 2019.

Methods: We used the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) data for estimates of prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), and underlying causes of HF in the EMR.

Cancer registration in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region: A tale of conflict, challenges, and opportunities.

Cancer registration is a core component of national and regional cancer control strategies. In the Middle East, North-Africa and Turkey (MENAT) region, capacity and resources for cancer registration is variable and shaped by multiple contextual challenges. This viewpoint maps out practical recommendations around cancer registration, in an attempt to inform cancer control planning, policy, and implementation.

The Eastern Mediterranean Regional Palliative Care Expert Network: Designing a roadmap for palliative care development in the region.

Since 2014 WHO has been advocating for the integration of palliative care into health systems. Although there has been some progress in the development of palliative care in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, many countries in the region still have no palliative care activity and none has achieved integration. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean has been engaged in activities aimed to develop palliative care in the region since 2010.

Estimated incidence, prevalence, mortality, and registration of childhood cancer (ages 0-14 years) in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region: an analysis of GLOBOCAN 2020 data.

Background: There is little evidence about childhood cancer burden in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR). We aimed to provide an estimate of childhood cancer burden in the EMR, examine the connection between age-standardised mortality rate and level of income (gross domestic product [GDP] per capita), and reflect on the current status of childhood cancer registration in the EMR.

Methods: Using the GLOBOCAN 2020 data from the Cancer Surveillance Unit of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, we extracted data for childhood cancer (at ages 0-14 years) incidence, prevalence, and mortality for 22 countries in the EMR, the EMR as a whole, and other WHO regions, and categorised by main cancer types.

Review of National Healthcare Systems in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries for Noncommunicable Diseases Management.

Objectives: Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of mortality in all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries and place a substantial economic burden on the governments and people. The escalating demand for NCD-related health services takes an enormous toll on health systems in these countries. There is an urgent need to make significant advances in the healthcare infrastructure and develop strategies to overcome the NCD challenge.

National cancer control plans across the Eastern Mediterranean region: challenges and opportunities to scale-up.

National cancer control planning is crucial for countries in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region. This region is challenged with an increase in cancer incidence leading to substantial disease burden, premature deaths, and increasing health-care costs in most countries. Huge inequity in cancer control planning and implementation exists between and within the countries.

Cancer Registration in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey: Scope and Challenges.

Purpose: National cancer control strategies have been identified as essential tools for reducing and managing the growing burden of cancer in low- and middle-income countries. Cancer registration is an instrumental component of any cancer control strategy, providing the data to inform effective cancer policy. In the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey (MENAT) region, cancer registration varies immensely and faces multifaceted challenges including protracted conflict.

Systemic Solutions for Addressing Non-Communicable Diseases in Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have been on the rise in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) over the last few decades and represent a significant healthcare concern. Over 85% of "premature" deaths worldwide due to NCDs occur in the LMICs. NCDs are an economic burden on these countries, increasing their healthcare expenditure.

"If I have a cancer, it is not my fault I am a refugee": A qualitative study with expert stakeholders on cancer care management for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Background: Noncommunicable diseases including cancer are widespread amongst the 5.6 million Syrian refugees currently hosted in the Middle East. Given its prevalence as the third leading cause of death in Syria, cancer is likely to be an important health burden among Syrian refugees.

Proportion of cancers attributable to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

Cancer is a major contributing cause of morbidity and mortality in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The aim of the current study was to estimate the cancer burden attributable to major lifestyle and environmental risk factors. We used age-, sex- and site-specific incidence estimates for 2012 from IARC's GLOBOCAN, and assessed the following risk factors: smoking, alcohol, high body mass index, insufficient physical activity, diet, suboptimal breastfeeding, infections and air pollution.

Context-led capacity building in time of crisis: fostering non-communicable diseases (NCD) research skills in the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa.

Background: This paper examines one EC-funded multinational project (RESCAP-MED), with a focus on research capacity building (RCB) concerning non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa. By the project's end (2015), the entire region was engulfed in crisis.

Objective: Designed before this crisis developed in 2011, the primary purpose of RESCAP-MED was to foster methodological skills needed to conduct multi-disciplinary research on NCDs and their social determinants.

The development of national multisectoral action plans for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases: experiences of national-level stakeholders in four countries.

Background: In October 2012, the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR) developed a Regional Framework for Action to implement multisectoral action plans (MAPs) for the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).

Objectives: The aim of this project was to draw on the experiences of four EMR countries that had made good progress in developing these MAPs, to identify best practice and barriers in the development of them.

Methods: Structured interviews were held with key stakeholders in the development of the MAPs from the four focal EMR countries: Lebanon, Morocco, Sudan, and Yemen.

Tackling cancer burden in low-income and middle-income countries: Morocco as an exemplar.

Examples of successful implementations of national cancer control plans in low-income or middle-income countries remain rare. Morocco, a country where cancer is already the second leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases, is one exception in this regard. Population ageing and lifestyle changes are the major drivers that are further increasing the cancer burden in the country.

Cancer surveillance in northern Africa, and central and western Asia: challenges and strategies in support of developing cancer registries.

The Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development partnership, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), was established in response to an overwhelming need for high-quality cancer incidence data from low-income and middle-income countries. The IARC Regional Hub for cancer registration in North Africa, Central and West Asia was founded in 2013 to support capacity building for cancer registration in each of the countries in this region. In this Series paper, we advocate the necessity for tailored approaches to cancer registration given the rapidly changing cancer landscape for this region, and the challenges faced at a national level in developing data systems to help support this process given present disparities in resources and health infrastructure.

Cardiovascular disease in the Eastern Mediterranean region: epidemiology and risk factor burden.

The Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) comprises 22 countries or territories spanning from Morocco in the west to Pakistan in the east, and contains a population of almost 600 million people. Like many other developing regions, the burden of disease in the EMR has shifted in the past 30 years from primarily communicable diseases to noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiovascular mortality in the EMR, mostly attributable to ischaemic heart disease, is expected to increase more dramatically in the next decade than in any other region except Africa.

Barriers to, and opportunities for, palliative care development in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

The 22 countries of WHO's Eastern Mediterranean Region are experiencing an increase in the burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer. Of the six WHO regions, the Eastern Mediterranean Region is projected to have the greatest increase in cancer incidence in the next 15 years. Furthermore, most cancers are diagnosed at a late stage, resulting in a lower cancer survival rate than in the European Region and the Region of the Americas.

Profile of cancer in the Eastern Mediterranean region: The need for action.

Background: Many countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR) are undergoing marked demographic and socioeconomic transitions that are increasing the cancer burden in region. We sought to examine the national cancer incidence and mortality profiles as a support to regional cancer control planning in the EMR.

Methods: GLOBOCAN 2012 data were used to estimate cancer incidence and mortality by country, cancer type, sex and age in 22 EMR countries.