A freely accessible learning platform integrating all research for cancer prevention in one easy-to-access point.
To efficiently address the global cancer burden, it is imperative to improve prevention worldwide. Learning about emerging issues in cancer research for cancer prevention therefore becomes a key component in the education of any oncology professional who aims to provide guidance to their patients as well as to act as a role model.
Access the World Cancer Report Updates Platform
ESMO is collaborating with and supporting the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in the development of the World Cancer Report Updates Learning Platform, an online platform which offers free access to:
- learning material based on selected content from the IARC 2020 World Cancer Report – the most comprehensive resource on cancer prevention published every five years;
- current developments in cancer research for cancer prevention.
To receive direct updates, including those on live events and self-paced resources, register for the portal.
Upcoming webinar
Next webinar will be announced shortly.
Access to on-demand webinars and related resources:
World Cancer Report Updates webinar series: The Present and Future of Lung Cancer Screening
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What is the current evidence on lung cancer screening?
- How can risk prediction and biomarkers contribute to make lung cancer screening more effective and efficient?
- What role could artificial intelligence play in lung cancer screening?
The seventh instalment in the World Cancer Report Updates webinar series was broadcast live on Tuesday, 6 December 2022 at 14:00 CET. The topic of the webinar was ‘The Present and Future of Lung Cancer Screening: Latest Evidence and Research Perspectives’. The event lasted approximately one-and-a half hours and included two presentations and a question and answer session. The event was chaired by Dr Rosa Giuliani, a Consultant in Medical Oncology at the Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, United Kingdom, and the ESMO Director of Public Policy.
In the first presentation, Professor Joachim Aerts, the Head of the Department of Pulmonary Medicine at the Erasmus University Medical Center, Netherlands, discussed the latest state of affairs of the published data on lung cancer screening.
In the second presentation, Dr Hilary Robbins, a Scientist in the Genomic Epidemiology Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), discussed how lung cancer screening programmes can be made more effective and efficient by using information about individual risk to tailor aspects of eligibility, screening frequency, and nodule follow-up. Her presentation explored research developments in predicting lung cancer occurrence using statistical models, blood-based biomarkers, and artificial intelligence with low-dose computed tomography (CT) images.
The World Cancer Report Updates webinar series aims to provide new perspectives or present new research, to complement the large variety of educational resources based on selected content of World Cancer Report. These educational resources are freely accessible from the World Cancer Report Updates learning platform, which was developed with the support of and in collaboration with ESMO.
Read more about the webinar’s speakers and presentations
World Cancer Report Updates webinar series: Polygenic Scores for Cancer Prevention
The sixth instalment in the World Cancer Report Updates webinar series was broadcast live on Wednesday, 2 March 2022. The topic of the webinar was Polygenic Scores for Cancer Prevention. The event lasted approximately one hour and included two presentations and a Q&A session. Dr James McKay, Deputy Head of the Genomic Epidemiology Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), chaired the event.
Programme highlights:
- Emerging opportunities and limitations of the use of polygenic scores for developing risk-stratified approaches to cancer prevention
- Findings from the largest genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels demonstrating how using a polygenic score to correct PSA values can improve the clinical utility
Presentations:
Polygenic Scores for Stratified Cancer Prevention
Dr Nilanjan Chatterjee
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biostatistics and Genetic Epidemiology
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
- Emerging opportunities and limitations of the use of polygenic scores for developing risk-stratified approaches to cancer prevention
- Results from recent studies integrating polygenic scores
- Assessment of the potential clinical utility of the model for breast cancer prevention
Genetic Determinants for Prostate-Specific Antigen Levels Improve Cancer Screening Utility
Dr Linda Kachuri
Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California San Francisco and an incoming Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health at Stanford University, USA
- Findings from the largest genome-wide association study of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels
- How to use a polygenic score to correct PSA values can improve the clinical utility by reducing overdiagnosis and unnecessary testing and increasing detection of aggressive disease
The World Cancer Report Updates webinar series aims to provide new perspectives or present new research, to complement the large variety of educational resources based on selected content of the World Cancer Report. These educational resources are freely accessible from the World Cancer Report Updates learning platform, which was developed with the support of, and in collaboration with, ESMO.
The fifth instalment in the World Cancer Report Updates webinar series was broadcast live on Tuesday 16 November 2021 at 11:00 CET. The topic of the webinar was Challenges and Opportunities for Primary Cancer Prevention.
The event, lasted one hour and 20 minutes, and included two presentations and a question and answer session. Dr Béatrice Lauby-Secretan, a scientist in the Evidence Synthesis and Classification Branch at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), chaired the event.
In the first presentation, Dr David Hunter, Professor of Epidemiology and Medicine at the University of Oxford, United Kingdom, reviewed the scientific evidence about the role of a number of modifiable risk factors and protective factors in the incidence of and mortality from some of the most common cancer types around the world, such as lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and cervical cancer. He discussed the current status of that evidence and the progress that has been made.
In the second presentation, Dr Bernard W. Stewart, Professor at the University of New South Wales, Australia, and co-editor of the 2020 World Cancer Report, discussed perspectives in cancer prevention beyond reduced exposure to carcinogens. Decreased risk of lung cancer after smoking cessation epitomizes primary cancer prevention. Comparable responses to alcohol consumption, exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection remain crucial. Reduced cancer incidence may also be targeted for risk factors not involving recognized carcinogens. More broadly, health impacts due to inequalities offer the prospect of reducing a spectrum of diseases. However, even the immediate goal of avoiding exposure to carcinogens may fail because of beliefs and expectations.
The World Cancer Report Updates webinar series aims to provide new perspectives or present new research, to complement the large variety of educational resources based on selected content of World Cancer Report. These educational resources are freely accessible from the World Cancer Report Updates learning platform, which was developed with the support of and in collaboration with ESMO.
- Read more about the webinar’s speakers and presentations
- Lean more about the World Cancer Report
- Subscribe to the mailing list to receive further information about the World Cancer Report Updates learning platform
What are the consequences of COVID-19 for cancer screening? What challenges have been encountered by countries? What could be turned into an opportunity, and what lessons have been learned? This webinar addressed these questions and provided examples from low-income and high-income countries. Please note that to view the recording of this webinar you will be asked to enroll with the IARC learning platform.
Data are rapidly accruing on the impressive effectiveness of HPV vaccination programmes, including strong herd immunity effects and reduction in cervical cancer rates. This webinar presents the impact of HPV vaccination in Australia, which implemented one of the earliest and most successful vaccination programmes. It also provides an up-to-date picture of global progress in the implementation of HPV vaccination, with a focus on challenges in low- and middle-income countries.
Obesity is an established risk factor for cancer at 13 anatomical sites. This webinar provides an overview of current understanding on the epidemiology and biology of the obesity–cancer relationship as well as important outstanding research questions. It also addresses the challenges of current and future interventions aimed at breaking the obesity–cancer link and explores what can be done at both the societal and individual level to tackle the obesity crisis and its impact on the cancer burden.
People who have lower socioeconomic status or are part of marginalized groups tend to have a higher incidence of certain types of cancers and higher mortality from most cancer types compared with people who have higher socioeconomic status. This webinar provides an overview of how the phenomenon of inequalities in cancer is shaped, and of how socioeconomic inequalities affect all countries worldwide and all citizens within each country. The experts also touch on strategies to tackle inequality in cancer.
About the IARC World Cancer Report
The IARC 2020 World Cancer Report: Cancer Research for Cancer Prevention, notes that cancer is the ‘first or second cause of premature death (ages 30-69) in 134 of 183 countries’.
According to the IARC Global Cancer Observatory cancer is expected to increase from 2018 to 2040, from an incidence of 18.1 million to 29.5 million with growth in the number of deaths from 9.6 million to 16.4 million.
A main message of the IARC report is that prevention offers the most cost-effective long-term strategy for the control of cancer.
The report offers a wealth of knowledge including ‘the most comprehensive overview of relevant research available to date, ranging from descriptive etiology, cellular and molecular biology, toxicology and pathology through to behavioural and social science. Key chapters include discussions on the impact of inequalities in cancer, vaccination and screening, genomic individual susceptibility to cancer and the finer identification of those at risk, which may allow ‘precision cancer prevention’. The section on ‘inequalities that affect cancer prevention’ is new in the 2020 edition and explains how socioeconomic inequalities can limit cancer prevention impact. The IARC report is complemented by other publications such as the WHO Classification of Tumours series (also known as the WHO Blue Books); the IARC volumes of “Cancer Incidence in Five Continents”, and the associated GLOBOCAN database document data on incidence, prevalence, mortality, and trends for multiple cancer types accessible online through the IARC Global Cancer Observatory.
The IARC report provides the most up-to-date science on cancer, and was published at the same time as the WHO 2020 Report on Cancer: setting priorities, investing wisely and providing care for all which indicates how that science can be translated into public policies.
The WHO and IARC reports provide a reliable resource for ESMO members for evidence-based data on the burden of cancer, its prevention, and public policy recommendations governments and health authorities can implement to save lives.