LIVESTRONG^™ Global Cancer Summit

Nearly 8 million people will die worldwide this year from cancer and it is projected that cancer will become the leading cause of death worldwide in the year 2010. It is because of these sobering statistics that the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) held the LIVESTRONG™ Global Cancer Summit in Ireland this year.

On 24th-26th August 2009, hundreds of delegates from around the world met in Dublin, Ireland to support the LIVESTRONG™ Global Cancer Summit - a partnership between various organizations and advocates to move cancer as a national priority around the world. Delegates, selected to attend the Summit based on their commitment and leadership to move the field of cancer control forward, were asked to sign up to the Global Cancer Commitments that LAF developed in collaboration with the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) to strengthen the fight against cancer.

The World Cancer Declaration 2020 targets of the UICC and the LIVESTRONG™ Global Commitments are:

• Sustainable delivery systems will be in place to ensure that effective cancer control programmes are available in all countries.
• The measurement of the global cancer burden and the impact of cancer control interventions will have improved significantly.
• Global tobacco consumption, obesity and alcohol intake levels will have fallen significantly.
• Populations in the areas affected by HPV and HBV will be covered by universal vaccination programmes.
• Public attitudes towards cancer will improve and damaging myths and misconceptions about the disease will be dispelled.
• Many more cancers will be diagnosed when still localized through the provision of screening and early detection programmes and high levels of public and professional awareness about important cancer warning signs.
• Access to accurate cancer diagnosis, appropriate cancer treatments, supportive care, rehabilitation services and palliative care will have improved for all patients worldwide.
• Effective pain control measures will be available universally to all cancer patients in pain.
• The number of training opportunities available for health professionals in different aspects of cancer control will have improved significantly.
• Emigration of health workers with specialist training in cancer control will have reduced dramatically.
• There will be major improvements in cancer survival rates in all countries.

Reflecting on the past accomplishments of the All-Ireland National Cancer Institute (NCI) Cancer Consortium, one may argue that the LAF/UICC Global Commitments are very much united to the goals of the Consortium, which aims to reduce the incidence of and mortality from cancer in Ireland through cross-border and trans-Atlantic collaborations in cancer research, training, and education. The Consortium is regarded as a major step towards enhancing diplomatic relations between the U.S., Ireland, and Northern Ireland, bringing the governments of the U.S. and both parts of the island together in the fight against cancer.

Ireland, a member of the EU, has among the highest rates of cancer in the Western world. Since its inception in 1999, the Consortium has worked to enhance cancer research capacity in the North and South by coordinating scientific research and joint educational opportunities for cancer researchers and health care and public health professionals. The Consortium combats cancer by focusing its collective resources on specific key areas of scientific research: scholar exchange, cancer registries and epidemiology, clinical trials, information technology, nursing, cancer prevention, health economics and cancer policy analysis, palliative care, and biobanking.

To advance its vision of implementing global cancer control through collaborative research and education, the Consortium promotes a number of joint educational and training opportunities each year, ranging from health economics fellowships to cancer prevention courses and programs. In partnership with the NCI, the Consortium provides fellowship awards to qualified Irish and Northern Irish nurses, oncologists, researchers, and other public health professionals to travel, study, and conduct research on the island of Ireland and in the U.S. Over the past decade, the Consortium has facilitated the participation of over 200 all-Ireland scholars in NCI-sponsored programs. In addition to facilitating education and training opportunities, the Consortium also works extensively with a variety of Irish and Northern Irish public health partners, such as the Irish Cancer Society, to organize cancer prevention-related workshops, seminars, activities, and conferences, including the All-Ireland Cancer Conferences.

The Consortium also strives to improve patient access to next generation lifesaving therapies by strengthening joint clinical trial capacity in cancer centers across the island of Ireland. With this goal in mind, the Consortium coordinated the establishment of the All Ireland Cooperative Oncology Research Group (ICORG). ICORG has been instrumental in strengthening research infrastructure and driving collaboration with the Northern Ireland Cancer Clinical Trials Unit. To date, over 3,500 patients from Ireland and Northern Ireland have enrolled in Consortium-sponsored studies through ICORG. As part of its initiative to enhance clinical trial development on the island of Ireland, the Consortium also instituted a highly successful Clinical Trials Training for Nurses program, in collaboration with the NCI.

Additionally, the Consortium is involved in initiatives geared towards improving palliative and end-of-life care for the all-Ireland patient community. Specifically, the Consortium has been involved in recent efforts to establish the All-Ireland Institute for Hospice and Palliative Care, which will lead and coordinate the development of education, research, and policy intelligence related to hospice and palliative care across Ireland.

It is through the Consortium's commitment to enhancing cancer control through forging global partnerships and collaborations that the Consortium hopes to bring the cancer public health and scientific community a bit closer to its goal of reducing the burden and death due to cancer.

The Consortium looks forward to working with the LAF and UICC to move the cancer community closer to the Global Commitment 2010 targets.

For more information about the Consortium, please visit www.allirelandnci.org.

Sincerely,

Isabel V. Otero
Program Director
All-Ireland NCI Cancer Consortium
Office of International Affairs
National Cancer Institute
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services