Tackling the cancer burden: the economic impact of primary prevention policies

Early diagnosis of esophageal cancer: How to put “early detection” into effect?

This editorial comments on the article by Qu et al in a recent edition of World Journal of Gastrointestinal Oncology, focusing on the importance of early diagnosis in managing esophageal cancer and strategies for achieving “early detection”. The five-year age-standardized net survival for esophageal cancer patients falls short of expectations. Early detection and accurate diagnosis are critical strategies for improving the treatment outcomes of esophageal cancer. While advancements in endoscopic technology have been significant, there seems to be an excessive emphasis on the latest high-end endoscopic devices and various endoscopic resection techniques. Therefore, it is imperative to redirect focus towards proactive early detection strategies for esophageal cancer, investigate the most cost-effective screening methods suitable for different regions, and persistently explore practical solutions to improve the five-year survival rate of patients with esophageal cancer.

Economic evaluation of the recent French tobacco control policy: a model-based approach

BACKGROUND

One in four French adults smoked daily in 2021, compared with one in six in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. To strengthen its tobacco control policy, in 2016, France has started implementing a policy package that includes a 3-year gradual price increase, plain packaging, an annual social marketing campaign promoting cessation and the reimbursement of nicotine replacement products. This study aims to evaluate the health and economic impact of this policy package.

METHODS

The long-term policy impact on disease cases, healthcare expenditure and gains in labour participation and productivity was evaluated by using the OECD microsimulation model for Strategic Public Health Planning for Non-Communicable Diseases. The model was fed with historical and projected trends on tobacco smoking prevalence as produced by the policy package.

RESULTS

Over the period 2023-2050, the policy package is estimated to avoid about 4.03 million (2.09-11.84 million) cases of chronic diseases, save €578 million (365-1848 million) per year in health expenditure and increase employment and workforce productivity by the equivalent to 19 800 (9100-59 900) additional full-time workers per year, compared with a scenario in which the intervention package is not implemented. The intervention cost is estimated at about €148 million per year. For each euro invested in the policy package, €4 will be returned in long-term savings in healthcare expenditure.

CONCLUSIONS

The tobacco control policy package implemented by France, targeting smoking initiation and promoting tobacco cessation is an effective intervention with an excellent return on investment.

Risk factors and prevention of liver cancer: A bibliometric and visual analysis

Liver cancer has become an important public health problem. In this study, bibliometrics and visual analysis were performed on the literature related to the risk factors and prevention of liver cancer, in order to understand the latest research progress of the risk factors and prevention of liver cancer. The Web of Science database was used as a retrieval platform to retrieve the published research results from 2012 to 2023. CiteSpace and VOSviewer were utilized for bibliometrics and visual analysis. A total of 2388 articles were screened according to exclusion criteria. Between 2012 and 2018, the number of articles published fluctuated. From 2018 to 2023, the number of published documents showed a steady upward trend. The 3 journals with the most publications are World Journal of Gastroenterology, PLOS ONE, and Hepatology. The United States and China are the countries with the most publications, while Harvard University, the National Institutes of Health and the University of Texas System are the 3 institutions with the most publications. Keywords such as hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, alcohol, obesity, recrudescence rate, global burden are hot words in the field of liver cancer risk factors and prevention. The current research mainly focuses on the influence of environmental factors, behavioral lifestyle and biological factors on liver cancer, as well as the primary and secondary prevention of liver cancer, but there are still many undetermined factors to be explored.

Burden of occupational cancer in Brazil and federative units, 1990-2019

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of the burden of occupational cancer in Brazil and federative units between 1990 and 2019.

METHODS

Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Deaths from cancer whose attributable risk factor was occupational carcinogens were considered. Spatial analysis was performed with the first and last years of the series (1990 and 2019). Age-adjusted mortality rates were used to estimate the global Moran's Index (Moran's I), and the local indicator of spatial association (LISA) to identify clusters in the country with the respective statistical significance. The occupational cancer mortality rate, adjusted for age, was analyzed based on its trend for Brazil and federative units, in the period between 1990 and 2019.

RESULTS

Between 1990 and 2019, occupational cancer mortality rate showed a decreasing trend (R2=0.62; p<0.001) as well as the burden of disease indicator - DALY (R2=0.84; p<0.001). However, mortality is increasing in most states, suggesting that a minority of federative units induce the country's global trend. There is also the development of a spatial pattern of autocorrelation, indicating clusters of states with low mortality and DALY rates in the Northeast and high values in the South of the country.

CONCLUSION

The overall decreasing trend in the trend of occupational cancer masks the heterogeneity across states. This scenario may be associated with the diversity of economic activities, and suggests a decentralized and equitable plan for occupational cancer surveillance.

Carga de câncer relacionado ao trabalho no Brasil e unidades da federação, 1990–2019

RESUMO: Objetivo: Analisar a carga de câncer relacionado ao trabalho no Brasil e unidades da federação, entre 1990 e 2019. Métodos: Extraímos os dados do estudo Carga Global de Doenças (GBD). Consideramos as mortes por câncer cujo fator de risco atribuível fossem agentes ocupacionais carcinogênicos. A análise espacial foi realizada com o primeiro e último anos da série (1990 e 2019). As taxas de mortalidade ajustadas por idade foram utilizadas para calcular o índice de Moran global (I de Moran) e o indicador local de associação espacial (LISA). A taxa de mortalidade por câncer relacionado ao trabalho, ajustada por idade, foi analisada com base em sua tendência, para Brasil e unidades da federação, no período entre 1990 e 2019. Resultados: No período citado, a taxa de mortalidade por câncer relacionado ao trabalho exibiu tendência de decréscimo (R2=0,62; p<0,001), assim como o indicador de carga de doença — DALY (R2=0,84; p<0,001). Contudo, a mortalidade é crescente na maioria dos estados, o que sugere que uma minoria de unidades induz a tendência global do país. Há ainda formação de um padrão espacial de autocorrelação, indicando agrupamentos de estados com baixas taxas de mortalidade e DALY no Nordeste e valores altos no Sul do país. Conclusão: A tendência global de decréscimo na tendência do câncer relacionado ao trabalho mascara a heterogeneidade entre estados. Esse cenário pode estar associado à diversidade de atividades econômicas e sugere um plano descentralizado e equitativo da vigilância do câncer relacionado ao trabalho.

Cancers: What Are the Costs in Relation to Disability-Adjusted Life Years? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cancers currently represent a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and precisely estimating their burden is crucial for evidence-based decision-making. This study aimed at understanding the average costs of cancer-related disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and highlighting possible differences in economic estimates obtained with diverse approaches. We searched four scientific databases to identify all the primary literature simultaneously investigating cancer-related costs and DALYs. In view of the different methodologies, studies were divided into two groups: those estimating costs starting from DALYs, and those independently performing cost and DALY analyses. The latter were pooled to compute costs per disease-related DALY: meta-analytic syntheses were performed for total costs and indirect costs, and in relation to the corresponding gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The quality of included studies was assessed through the Quality of Health Economic Studies instrument. Seven studies were selected. Total and indirect pooled costs per DALY were, respectively, USD 9150 (95% CI: 5560-15,050) and USD 3890 (95% CI: 2570-5880). Moreover, the cost per cancer-related DALY has been found to be, on average, 32% (95% CI: 24-42%) of the corresponding countries' GDP per capita. Costs calculated a priori from DALYs may lead to results widely different from those obtained after data retrieval and model building. Further research is needed to better estimate the economic burden of cancer in terms of costs and DALYs.

Modelling the Reduction in Cancer Incidence After Variations in the Prevalence of Tobacco Consumption in Colombia in the Period 2016-2050

Objective

To evaluate the potential impact of tobacco reduction on future cancer incidence in Colombia

Introduction

Colombia has implemented multiple actions that led to reducing smoking prevalence in recent years. However, the numbers of cancer cases and deaths associated with smoking exposure remain high highlighting the importance of maintaining efforts to reduce and keep smoking prevalence low.

Methods

We performed a theoretical modeling exercise, projecting expected changes in the incidence of four cancers between 2016 and 2050 under two simulated scenarios of smoking reduction.

Results

A cumulative decline of 10% in the prevalence of smoking, a percentage in line with current cigarette taxation policies, will decrease cancer incidence in 2050 by 3.2%, .5%, .2% and .2% of lung, liver, cervical and colorectal cancer incidence, respectively. Complete elimination of tobacco consumption will reduce these by 39.1%, 6.1%, 2.2% and 2.3% respectively, by 2050.

Conclusion

These results highlight the importance of continuity and reinforcement of current tobacco control programs, including increasing taxation, to further reduce the prevalence of tobacco smoking and reduce cancer cases and deaths in the coming decades.

An Overview of the International Literature on Health-Related Quality of Life, Mental Health and Psychosocial Issues in People with Cancer

Background

Cancer is one of the most important leading causes of death worldwide. Early detection, screening and diagnosis have been demonstrated to significantly improve patients' survival rates and increase awareness of the benefit of prompt therapies and healthy lifestyles. In this context, Health-related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and several psychosocial difficulties are of relevance as prognostic factors for the trajectory of the diseases of people living with cancer.

Methods

This Special Issue aims to present a set of systematic reviews and research studies focusing on several psychosocial aspects in people suffering from hematologic and solid cancer.

Results

Three systematic reviews regard HRQoL, the quality of patient-physician communication, depression and other stress-related difficulties, respectively. One review pointed out the difficulties in diagnosing depression in the elderly with solid cancer; another one regards the risk of cancer in severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and severe depressive disorders. One additional review regards HRQoL in people with cancer in the present era of COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, some research studies pointed out the usefulness of a validated instrument to assess satisfaction with care in the oncology field, as well as of the self-reinforcing feedback loop to improve fatigue, insomnia and depression in people with cancer. Other two research studies evaluate, respectively, the attributable burden in worsening HRQoL in people suffering both from cancer and depression and the Type D personality as a risk factor for stress-related difficulties in women with breast cancer.

Conclusion

This Special Issue is a contribution to enhance future research mainly about such interventions useful to assess and improve HRQoL and overall well-being in people with cancer.

The Quality of Life of People with Solid Cancer is Less Worse than Other Diseases with better Prognosis, Except in the Presence of Depression

Background:

Suffering from Solid Cancer (SC) may adversely impact the Health-related Quality of Life (H-QoL). The aims of this study are to measure the H-QoL in a sample of people suffering from SC and to clarify the role of the co-occurrence of depressive episodes. Results were compared with a healthy control group and with groups of other disorders.

Methods:

In 151 patients with SC (mean±sd age 63.1±11.5; female 54.3%), H-QoL was assessed by SF-12, depressive episodes were identified by PHQ-9. The attributable burden of SC in impairing H-QoL was calculated as the difference between SF-12 score of a community sex and age ¼ matched healthy control group and that of the study sample. The attributable burden of SC was compared with other chronic diseases using specific diagnostic groups drawn from case-control studies that used the same database for selecting control samples.

Results:

H-QoL in people with SC was significantly worse than in the healthy control group (p<0.0001). The attributable burden in worsening the H-QoL due to SC was similar to those of severe chronic diseases, but lower than Multiple Sclerosis (p<0.0001) or Fibromyalgia (p<0.00001). Having a depressive episode was a strong determinant of decreasing H-QoL, regardless of the severity of cancer.

Conclusion:

The findings confirm a strong impact of SC but showed that H-QoL in SC was higher than in chronic diseases with better “quoad vitam” outcome. Since depression was a strong determinant, its prevention, early detection and therapy are the main objectives that must be reached in cancer patients.

Adherence to the new policy framework of the World Cancer Research Fund International in developing a policy package for the prevention of gastrointestinal cancers in Iran: a Delphi study

BACKGROUND

Gastrointestinal cancers in Iran are among the major non-communicable diseases with a considerable burden on the health system. Changes in lifestyles as well as environmental factors have resulted in the emergence of these cancers.

OBJECTIVE

To elicit and quantitatively verify experts' opinions regarding the potential public health impact, feasibility, economic impact, and budgetary impact of gastrointestinal cancer prevention policies in Iran.

METHODS

Sixteen experts from Iran were recruited in an email-based, two-round Delphi study. In each round, a questionnaire of policy options for preventing gastrointestinal cancers, which adhered to the new policy framework of the World Cancer Research Fund International, was given to participants. In the first round, experts were asked to provide opinions for and against the policy options. The second round evaluated the policy options for their public health impact, feasibility, economic impact, and budgetary impact.

RESULTS

A total of 32 policy options were organized based on three domains: health-enhancing environments, system changes, and behavior change communications. Of the 32 policy options, there were consensus in 31 (96%) and 30 (93%) options for public health impact and feasibility, respectively. On study completion, experts reached a consensus in 29 of 32 (90%) policy options for economic impact; only on 26 (81%) of these policy options did participants reached consensus for budgetary impact.

CONCLUSION

Findings indicated that although nearly all policy options reached a consensus for their public health impact, some options are not feasible or do not appear to have an economic rationale for being implemented. Moreover, it is crucial to take into account the inter-sectoral collaboration between health and non-health sectors. Findings from this study can be helpful for health policymakers in identifying support for evidence-informed approaches regarding gastrointestinal cancer prevention.