New insights into cancer control

Cancer Council Australia has contributed to two new editorials in the latest edition of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology, providing new perspectives on cancer control.

Professor Sanchia Aranda, CEO, Cancer Council Australia and Professor Christine Paul from the University of Newcastle have jointly published an editorial on 'Rethinking system change in cancer'.

The authors outline that there is growing imperative to change cancer care delivery systems in Australia, particularly due to increasing cancer survival and the growing number of people living beyond a cancer diagnosis.

They also highlight health system inequalities that need to be rectified - including poorer outcomes among those living rurally, with lower socio-economic circumstances or from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage.

They suggest that there needs to be greater involvement of primary care and greater system integration - which will lead to a more sustainable health system and better patient outcomes.

In a separate piece Professor James St John from Cancer Council Victoria and The Royal Melbourne Hospital and Paul Grogan, Cancer Council Australia's Director of Public Policy have commented on a recent evaluation of Australia's bowel cancer screening program.

"Compelling new data on the effectiveness of Australia's National Bowel Cancer Screening Program: A model for best practice?" provides a perspective on Australia's bowel cancer screening research published in the same issue of the journal (see here). Both Mr Grogan and Professor St John were involved in the development and promotion of the screening program and say that this latest data demonstrates its value in terms of reducing morbidity and mortality.

A full copy of the journal can be found here.