More than just survival: integrating early diagnosis and timely treatment to improve cancer care

Patients all over the world are still being diagnosed with cancer too late. We have known for many years that cancer survival rates will only improve with better access to regular screening and faster diagnosis, as well as the right treatment and follow up. Despite recent advances in cancer care–such as multi-cancer early detection tests and expanded use of artificial intelligence–there is not much improvement. This is particularly true for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): Ten million people die of cancer every year globally and seven million are in LMICs. Additionally, disparities in cancer survival rates exist between high-income countries (HICs) and LMICs. For example, breast cancer five-year survival rates in HICs exceed 90%, compared with 66% in India and 40% in South Africa.

During WCLS 2023, Roche convenes health leaders and expert stakeholders for an open dialogue on how, through new collaborations, we can find solutions for bringing innovations in early diagnosis and treatment to all patients, regardless of where they live. This session contributes to ongoing, action-oriented discussions on how multi-sector partnerships can tackle the challenge and opportunities in bringing cancer care to all within the context of concurrent health priorities, such as universal health coverage (UHC).