WHO Report on Cancer: Setting Priorities, Investing Wisely and Providing Care for All

This report by the World Health Organization (WHO) provides an overview of the current principles, analytical tools, and current priorities in cancer control. Cancer affects all populations regardless of wealth or social status, and all countries can take future steps informed by global assistance, guiding principles, and methods of analysis to accelerate global cancer control through prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. According to the report, the global cancer burden will increase by at least 60 percent over the next two decades; however, selection of and access to treatment programs has been inefficient and inequitable. The report emphasizes that countries should leverage interventions that are feasible for their health systems and epidemiological context, acknowledging that each country will be required to make trade-offs.

The report consists of eight chapters about major topics, from background information on the global cancer burden to early detection and screening to collaborative cancer control implementation. This report was published alongside the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s report on cancer as a response to the 2017 World Health Assembly mandate to provide guidance and information about the global status on cancer. Both reports target policy-makers and describe priority policies, programs, and evidence-based interventions that should be prioritized on the agenda for cancer.