Dr. Luana Tanaka is a member of the Concord Programme, which is dedicated to the global surveillance of cancer-survival data, and has published an article in the renowned specialist periodical "The Lancet". With an Impact Factor of 53, this specialist periodical makes use of a peer-reviewing procedure. Dr. Tanaka, a staff member at the Chair of Epidemiology under Prof. Dr. Stefanie Klug, participated in a worldwide study on cancer carried out by more than 500 scientists. The Lancet article was submitted to the journal before Dr. Tanaka moved to TUM. She continues to be a member of the Concord Group and researches cancer.
Assessment of 322 cancer registries from 71 countries
"In the article, the probability of surviving from a cancerous illness was evaluated for 18 different types of cancer. For this purpose, the so-called 5-year survival is observed," explains Prof. Klug. The data comes from the years 2000 to 2014. Evaluated in total were 322 cancer registries with around 37 million patients from 71 countries. "The 53-page article which evolved therefrom is a standard reference guide for this field," elucidated the Professor of Epidemiology.
The analysis was carried out by the CONCORD Working Group. CONCORD was supported, for example, by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank. The Working Group is led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "From a scientific viewpoint, the work of the CONCORD Group is exceptional for assessing the global prediction of surviving from cancer," explains Klug.
As a member of the Group, Tanaka took over the assessment procedure for Brazil. For this purpose, she investigated the data from the Registry for the region of São Paulo. "The registry represents the more than twelve million inhabitants of the city, which accounts for a total of six percent of the Brazilian population," says Tanaka. In this country on this planet, with the fifth highest population, there are a total of seven cancer registries. The decision in favor of the region of São Paulo was based on its good accessibility and the relatively high quality. After all, the major challenge for the international comparison are the very different levels of the cancer registries. "In Germany, these registries are supported financially by the government and there are legal regulations which exist for the collection of data. In Brazil, the situation is quite different. To date, there is only minimal financial support in Brazil. Overall, the cancer registries demonstrate a somewhat lower quality, although it is nevertheless clearly better than in the more poorly developed countries," concludes Tanaka.
Comparison of the health systems and of concepts for fighting against cancer
The study enables one to compare the various health systems and the concepts for fighting against cancer. The analysis thereby reveals differences as well: "One result is that the probability of surviving differs between the richest and the poorer countries. In the USA, for example, the probability of surviving from breast cancer is very high with 95%, while it is very much lower in India with 66%. Grounds for this could be the better care in the richer countries as well as the earlier diagnosis of illnesses," as analyzed by the scientific staff member at the Department of Epidemiology, who adds that, "The German system appears to function rather well overall. Problems and challenges exist in areas where the people have a lower degree of education since their probability of surviving is also seen to be lower. This could possibly be related to the fact that they have no knowledge of existing programs."
To the Homepage of the Chair of Epidemiology
Contact:
Dr. Luana Tanaka
Chair of Epidemiology
Georg-Brauchle-Ring 58
80992 Munich
Tel.: 089 289 24960
E-Mail: Luana.Tanaka(at)tum.de
Text: Dr. Fabian Kautz
Photos: The Lancet/Dr. Fabian Kautz/TUM