News Briefs – JANUARY 2022
GLOBAL CANCER DEATHS | HUDSON VALLEY HOSPICE | BLACK MEN PROSTATE CANCER
Growing Global Burden of Cancer Deaths
A systematic analysis of global diseases in 204 countries between 2010 and 2019 shows that new cancer cases and cancer deaths increased by 26.3% and 20.9%, respectively. These increases mean that there were 23.6 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2019 and 10 million cancer deaths. The increases occurred across all sociodemographic categories, with the most growth occurring within the lower- to middle-ranked subgroup, where the burden of cancer is the highest. The sociodemographic measure used in the analysis aggregates fertility rate, education, and distributed income throughout the world.
The five most prevalent types of cancer, according to the results published in JAMA Oncology , were tracheal, bronchus, and lung (TBL) cancers; colon and rectum cancer; stomach cancer; breast cancer; and liver cancer. Cancer deaths increased as a proportion of total deaths of all causes. Yet age-standardized mortality rates decreased by nearly 6%, suggesting some optimism that progress has been made in early diagnosis and treatment globally.
In analyzing the burden of cancer, the researchers went beyond just the number of cases and deaths to examine the number of years lived with disability, years of life lost, and disability-adjusted life years. The researchers stated that inequities in the distribution and growth of cancer burden around the world suggest a need to accelerate efforts to effectively address cancer burden.
The advances in early detection and treatment seem concentrated in the higher-ranked sociodemographic groups. The lower-ranked sociodemographic groups show the largest increase in cases and deaths due to changes in metabolic, behavioral, environmental, and occupational exposures. This led the researchers to propose that cancer control efforts should be tailored to local, cultural, and cancer-specific circumstances.
The study predicts that by 2040, more than two-thirds of the world’s cancers will occur in low- and middle-income countries, further increasing the existing disparities in health care access and coverage. This prediction points to the need to strengthen the cancer control infrastructure and increase access to universal health coverage and sufficient financial security in poorer countries.
Hudson Valley Hospice to Open an In-Patient Residence
Hudson Valley Hospice has broken ground in Hyde Park, NY, on a hospice residence due to open in early 2023. The residence will have 14 patient rooms and facilities for visiting family and friends. The rooms are designed to be homelike, with pull-out chairs and sofas that will allow loved ones to stay overnight.
The residence will sit on seven acres of wooded land near Poughkeepsie, NY. It will serve dying patients of the hospice in Dutchess and Ulster counties who can’t or don’t want to be at home for some period of time in their dying process or at the end. Each resident room will have the capacity for high-flow oxygen, making it possible for patients to be transferred to the residence from the hospital. It will be the only hospice residence in the region to be equipped in this way.
All 14 patient beds will qualify for the general inpatient level of care, which is reserved for patients experiencing acute symptoms that can’t be safely managed at home. Additionally, one of the patient beds will be designated for a pediatric patient.
Black Men Undergoing Radiation for Prostate Cancer Fare Better Than White Men
In a meta-analysis of seven randomized clinical trials with nearly 9,000 patients undergoing definitive radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer, Black men were significantly less likely to have a biochemical recurrence or distant metastasis or to die from the disease than White men. This unexpected result suggests that Black men have an improved response to this form of treatment that may be explained by differences in underlying biologic factors.
Black men in these trials were significantly more likely to have high-risk disease and at a younger age at the time of treatment. It would be logical to assume that these factors would lead to worse outcomes, especially since the general mortality rate for Black men with prostate cancer is 2.5 times higher than for White men, according to a 2019 study. Black men’s better response to definitive RT in these trials provides evidence that the form of treatment and access to treatment can make a big difference. It also suggests that more aggressive treatments, which carry greater risk of decreasing quality of life, need to be carefully considered for their clinical appropriateness when Black men seek treatment.
The analysis of these trials has limitations that the authors fully acknowledged. They include the fact that none of the trials were specifically designed to investigate the association between race and outcome of the trial intervention. Another limitation was that other prognostic variables, such as comorbidity and socioeconomic status, were not uniformly available and could not be adjusted for. Future studies, carefully designed to eliminate these variable factors, would help to explore whether Black men truly have a biological advantage in RT treatment of prostate cancer.
