Cancer surveillance in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a 10-year International Agency for Research on Cancer–WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean collaboration

In a new policy review published in The Lancet Oncology, scientists and public health experts from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean describe the present cancer profile of the Eastern Mediterranean region as a whole and of individual countries within the region, as well as joint activities carried out by IARC and the Regional Office during the past decade with the aim of building capacity in cancer surveillance.

The policy review includes information about the progress to date, the remaining challenges, and future strategies in the context of both specific cancer patterns and cancer control capacity in the Eastern Mediterranean, where the cancer burden is rapidly increasing.

In 2024, IARC and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean celebrated 10 years of collaboration in supporting cancer surveillance in the Eastern Mediterranean. This partnership has ensured a decade of progress in the development of sustainable and high-quality cancer surveillance systems for cancer control in countries throughout the region.

IARC, through the Global Initiative for Cancer Registry Development (GICR), together with the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, has provided technical support to 20 Eastern Mediterranean countries, including site visits and tailored recommendations to 12 countries. Over a series of five workshops covering basic and advanced cancer registration topics, more than 100 cancer registry professionals have been trained during the past decade, including three GICRNet regional trainers. Working in tandem with the IARC Regional Hub for Cancer Registration in Northern Africa, Central and Western Asia (in Izmir, Türkiye) and the respective WHO country offices, cancer registry teams from five countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region received on-site training in cancer registration procedures at the Izmir Cancer Registry.

Znaor A, Fouad H, Zahwe M, Eser S, Fadhil I, Soerjomataram I, et al.
Cancer surveillance in the Eastern Mediterranean region: a 10-year International Agency for Research on Cancer–WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean collaboration
Lancet Oncol. Published online 3 March 2025;
https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(24)00624-7

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View photo of event celebrating 10 years of collaboration between IARC and the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean