Department of Surgical Oncology, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center, Lahore, Pakistan.
Department of Surgery, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan.
J Pak Med Assoc. 2023 Jul;73(7):1475-1479. doi: 10.47391/JPMA.6258.
The incidence of cancer is rising globally at a remarkable rate. According to the global cancer Observatory, the total number of cases in Pakistan were 178,388 in 2020; and these figures were provided by the Punjab Cancer Registry which represents the population of Lahore and some parts of central Punjab. Considering the overall 220 million population, these figures are severe underestimation of the true cancer burden in Pakistan. Unfortunately, several attempts at establishing a national cancer registry in the country have failed in the past. Resource limitations, including funds, manpower and infrastructure, and the lack of interest on the part of the governments are behind the failure of the establishment of a national cancer database. There is a dire need for establishing a national cancer registry to understand the actual burden of disease, and to implement a national action plan for cancer prevention, and management strategies to control the growing epidemic.
癌症的发病率正在以惊人的速度在全球范围内上升。根据全球癌症观察站的数据，2020 年巴基斯坦的癌症总病例数为 178388 例；这些数字是旁遮普癌症登记处提供的，该登记处代表了拉合尔和旁遮普省中部部分地区的人口。考虑到巴基斯坦 2.2 亿的总人口，这些数字严重低估了巴基斯坦的癌症实际负担。不幸的是，过去该国曾几次试图建立国家癌症登记处，但都以失败告终。资源限制，包括资金、人力和基础设施，以及政府缺乏兴趣，是建立国家癌症数据库失败的背后原因。非常有必要建立一个国家癌症登记处，以了解疾病的实际负担，并实施国家癌症预防行动计划和管理策略，以控制这一不断增长的癌症流行。
