Cancer and AIDS Part II: Cancer Pathogenesis and Epidemiology

The lifestyles and socio-economic status that are prevalent in regions of the world with limited resources form the background for the unique features of neoplastic diseases in these areas, where the majority of the world population lives. The predominance of the world’s retroviral burden of  in these areas further compounds the nature and challenges of the cancer there. Much of the international cancer literature covers the nature and challenges of the disease as seen in high-income regions of the world, thereby giving a skewed view of the global cancer challenges. As the low- and middle-income regions of the world transition from communicable to non communicable disease patterns, there is a need for a corresponding paradigm shift, with increased emphasis on what the world needs to know about non communicable diseases, including cancer, where the disease is hitherto poorly documented. The main goal of the proposed book is to contribute to this outcomes.

This series of books is about the nature of cancer and retroviral diseases, including AIDS, their presentation and the challenges associated with their control, especially in the low- and middle-income countries. Anxiety about these diseases is a global phenomenon, and so also is the confusion about their origins. Studies of Egyptian mummies in paleopathology have documented the ancient occurrence of cancer, but not for AIDS and allied disorders, for which a role of modern lifestyle is more likely. These diseases share a background of worldwide variability of opulence and poverty, rather than heredity, in their manifestation and control.

 

This book covers the role of the global economy and its disparities, resulting in the variability of human development factors and their role in shaping the pathogenesis and epidemiology of cancer and HIV/AIDS as well as other retroviral diseases. It also covers the local, regional and international responses, or lack thereof, to these challenges.

 

Much of the information on oncology concentrates on the nature of the disease in the in developed countries, where emphasis tends to be on adult cancers, and less so on those of childhood and adolescence, an important population group in countries of limited resources. Furthermore, much of the available cancer control information reflects expensive and often-unaffordable curative practices of well-endowed nations, rather than public health approaches, which may be more relevant and appropriate for much of the rest of the world.

 

This book is the work of an extensively traveled oncologist and human retrovirology enthusiast with an international educational and professional background in resource poor and developed countries, who therefore, is able to compare and contrast health related observations and challenges in diverse settings.

 

Practicing and academic physicians in the emerging economies of Eastern Europe, Asia, South America and Africa, who are facing the challenge of cancer and AIDS as their populations transition from traditional to more affluent lifestyles, will find this series of books particularly informative. Oncologists, retrovirologists and others in developed countries, who are concerned about the global impact of cancer and AIDS, and are promoting related global health interventions, should read this collection, the topic of which is also relevant to officials of international agencies and resource-limited national public health policy units.