Abstract
Public lecture by Dr Freddie Bray, Section Head of the Cancer Surveillance Section at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), Lyon, France, for the Indigenous Peoples and Cancer Symposium in 2018.
The Indigenous Peoples and Cancer Symposium was a global, two-day symposium, hosted by the University of Otago, Wellington, which brought together people from Australia, New Zealand and Pacific nations to share information, ideas and potential solutions relating to cancer among Indigenous peoples of the region.
The global cancer burden is increasing and disparities are widening. A doubling of the number of new cancer cases is predicted by 2035, with a proportionally greater burden falling on countries undergoing major social and economic change. While changes in the scale and profile of cancer worldwide are linked to increasing levels of human development, there remains incredible geographical diversity given the numerous distinct types of human cancer. The presentation will examine the global patterns and trends of cancer worldwide and emphasise the need for local data and long-term investments in the prevention and early detection of the disease.