The Gulf Federation for Cancer Control (GFFCC), along with various health authorities across the GCC, has called for a region-wide cancer registry to help improve research and cancer care in the region.

GFCC said the registry will make available an updated vital data that can be used to assess current trends in cancer diagnosis and treatment, and which will help researchers and doctors in their work to develop new treatments for cancer and provide better preventative education.

Having a constantly updated registry of this kind is vital, as the last available information dates all the way back to 2005, stated GFFCC, a federation of 12 cancer associations in the GCC states and Yemen.

Sanofi Oncology in collaboration with Friends Of Cancer Patients (FOCP) recently hosted an event in Dubai  to bring together representatives of all the cancer centres across the Gulf countries and Yemen for speedy  implementation of the registry, which was born out of a MoU signed in May between Sanofi and the GFFCC.

The event entitled 'Gulf Cancer Registry Challenges and Achievements' saw a number of representatives from the UAE Ministry of Health (MoH), Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD), Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and GFFCC take part.

Dr Khaled Al Saleh, GFFFC general secretary said, “The registry will contain information such as the age and gender of those diagnosed per year, geographical prevalence, relative frequencies of each type of cancer, the number of deaths per year from cancer.”

“This data can then be used to assess trends of current cancer treatment and describe the length, rate and quality of survival in relation to treatment” he added. 

Ameera BinKaram, president of the Board of Trustees and founding member of the FOCP stressed the importance of a GCC cancer registry which she said will play an important part in the field of cancer research in the region.

“We are proud at FOCP to launch for the first time in the UAE this very vital initiative with the help of Sanofi Oncology and GFFCC which will play a crucial role in registering the trends and assessment of cancer diagnosis,' she added.

Khalid Majed Lotah of MoH said: “The GCC registry will also provide background for cancer research and assist in the evaluation of therapies, helping to assess the quality of hospital care, the effectiveness of preventive measures adapted to combat cancer, and the educational programs given to professionals and the public.”
 
Dr Shaheenah Dawood, consultant oncologist, DHA, said the overall data from the registry will allow for determination of incidence patterns of different types of cancer in a certain country.

'This is a huge step forward for cancer care in the region,' she remarked.

Dr Jalaa A Taher of HAAD said, “Creating a registry such as this is hugely important, as there had not been updated, accurate knowledge of the incidence and prevalence of cancer and cancer-related conditions in the GCC area since 2005.”

“Having a registry such as this will greatly improve our ability to provide the best possible care to our patients,” said Dr.Mohamed Jaloudi, consultant, medical oncology and chairman of Al Tawam Hospital’s oncology/hematology unit.

Sanofi Gulf general manager George Morcos said, “We are building on a heritage of more than 50 years of experience helping patients and healthcare professionals in the field of cancer care.'

'Sanofi’s vision is to target cancer on all fronts by working on most of the mechanisms of action involved in the development, growth and spread of cancer,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service