ASCO Stands With the Cancer Community in Turkey and Syria

Feb 08, 2023

ASCO is closely monitoring the situation in Turkey and Syria as a dire humanitarian crisis unfolds in the wake of the devastating earthquakes that struck the region on Monday, February 6.  We stand in solidarity with our members and colleagues as well as their patients whose lives have been tragically impacted by this natural disaster.  ASCO is calling on the global cancer community to come together in support of both the patients whose lives have been impacted as well as the healthcare professionals selflessly providing assistance during this most difficult time. 

At this time, we urge our members and the broader cancer community to lend their support and expertise to organizations working on the ground to provide relief.  We are also reaching out to our Turkish and Syrian members to seek information on how ASCO can best provide help and support as the global response to provide humanitarian aid gears up over the coming days and weeks.

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Vahit Ozmen, MD, FACS

Feb, 13 2023 2:06 PM

Vahit Ozmen, MD, FACS

Professor of Surgery

Istanbul University Istanbul Faculty of Medicine

Editor-in-Chief, European Journal of Breast Health

President-Elect, Senologic International Society (SIS)

vozmen@istanbul.edu.tr

www.vahitozmen.com

 

 

 

Unfortunately, very severe and consecutive earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 caused serious damage to 10 provinces in Turkey and six provinces on Syria's border with Turkey. More than 30,000 patients lost their lives in Turkey, and more than 80,000 were injured. The number of casualties in Syria is around 2,000, and the number of injured is about 3,600. We can confidently say these figures will increase as debris removal work continues. It is estimated that the cost of this earthquake to the Turkish economy caused 84 billion dollars of material damage.

Unfortunately, we also saw that some hospitals were destroyed during these earthquakes. Therefore, this disaster reveals serious health problems in Turkey and Syria, which have been experiencing the war that has been going on for about 12 years. Moreover, it will negatively impact cancer patients in southeastern Turkey and Syria, where all cancers are detected as locally advanced or metastatic.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Globocan 2020 data, the population in Turkey is 84.339.067, the number of new cancer patients is 233.834, the number of patients who die from cancer is 126.533, and the 5-year prevalence of cancer is 581.636. Of the newly diagnosed patients, 17.6% were lung cancer, 10.3% were breast cancer, 9.1% were colon cancer, and 8.3% were prostate cancer. Again, according to Globocan 2020 data, the population in Syria was evaluated as 17.500.657, the number of new cancer patients as 20.959, the number of patients dying from cancer as 12.967, and the 5-year prevalence of cancer as 39.120. Of the newly diagnosed patients, 20.9% were breast cancer, 9.4% were lung cancer, 8.4% were colon cancer, and 5.2% were prostate cancer.

As seen above, the most common cancers in Turkey and Syria are lung and breast. These are followed by colo-rectal cancer and prostate cancer. Breast cancer, colorectal, and cervical cancer screening programs are implemented in Turkey.

The Breast Health Society, which I founded, is an NGO and PAG and has shown that a community-based screening program can be carried out in Turkey by carrying out the Bahçeşehir Community-Based Breast Cancer Screening Program, which lasted ten years (2009-2019) and includes 10,000 women, that the screening interval should be between the ages of 40-49, that screening provides early diagnosis and is cost-effective. In addition, with the breast cancer registration program we created, the DCIS rate was 4%, and the Stage I breast cancer rate was 29%. The above information shows that a non-governmental organization can do it in a country with low research support.

Considering the dismal situation of cancer care in the earthquake-ravaged Turkey and Syria, what role should the cancer community, including cancer organizations, play in helping cancer patients and improving the cancer situation in these countries?

A) First, a responsible cancer society (PAG, NGO) and its leader should be determined to provide this organization and carry out the project to be prepared. Then, the community should contact and cooperate with the central system (Ministry of Health), the cancer control department affiliated with this system, and the health directorates of the provinces affected by the earthquake.

B) Society must cooperate with other scientific associations and patient associations dealing with cancer in these countries.

C) The responsible society must cooperate with the relevant specialists of the Medical Faculties in the disaster-stricken provinces.

D) A working group of cancer specialists to help cancer patients improve their cancer status should hold regular meetings in all these damaged provinces to investigate the number of patients and access to medication and treatments, conduct due diligence and identify suggestions for improvement. Representatives of patient associations and patients should also be invited to these meetings.

E) An agreement should be reached with a professional agency that will organize the meetings, the people should be recorded, and improvement projects should be prepared and implemented.

II.What the international community (countries, oncology societies, oncology NGOs, etc.) doing/will do for cancer patients in this regard (in those two countries)?

I have not yet heard of any attempt by the international community to help cancer patients and improve their cancer status.

A) First, the international community should immediately communicate and cooperate with the structures that will carry out these activities in Turkey and Syria.

B) International project sponsorship is required for the realization of these projects.

C) It should be aimed to evaluate the data obtained in the research with the international community, evaluate the results, and publish the results of the treatments (patient report outcomes).

The primary objectives of the projects to be implemented

A) To show that cancer patients and their relatives who have experienced significant trauma are not unowned, to support them with the psychologists in the study group,

B) To identify the problems of cancer patients in accessing treatment and to help them solve them together with the responsible association, local health professionals, and representatives of international organizations,

The primary objectives of the projects to be implemented

A) To show that cancer patients and their relatives who have experienced significant trauma are not unowned, to support them with the psychologists in the study group,

B) To identify the problems of cancer patients in accessing treatment and to help them solve them together with the responsible association, local health professionals, and representatives of international organizations,

C) To enable cancer patients to live healthier and longer.

 

 

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