Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Cancer remains a public health challenge worldwide as well as in Pakistan, with increasing incidence and mortality rate of oral, breast, Lung and Colorectal cancer (WHO, 2023; International Agency for Research on Cancer 2024).International bodies such as the World Health Organization (WHO), National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has developed comprehensive guidelines for cancer treatment.Pakistan still lacks structured, evidence based national guidelines tailored to its unique population dynamics.The dependence on international protocols does not eternally align with the local healthcare infrastructure, genetic predispositions, and socioeconomic factors (National Comprehensive Cancer Network, 2024).Therefore, it is imperative to develop localized cancer guidelines to improve early diagnosis, treatment, and overall patient outcomes. THE URGENT NEED FOR LOCAL CANCER GUIDELINESPakistan's cancer care registry faces several challenges; lack of awareness, standardized management and treatment protocols, late-stage diagnosis and limited access to specialized cancer care centers.A lot of cancer cases from rural areas of Pakistan report advanced stage cancer due to lack of awareness and not sufficient screening programs (Ahmad et al., 2023).This led to reducing the survival rate and is increasing the burden on our healthcare system.Relying on Western guidelines without studying the epidemiological and genetic landscape creates a new issue.Previous studies report a high rate of consanguinity in Pakistan, contributing to an increased prevalence of genetic changes associated with early-onset cancer (National Cancer Registry of Pakistan, 2024).Hence, it's a current need to develop national guidelines that incorporate genetic counseling, screening, environmental risk factors and resource appropriate treatment options.
Source: Annals of Punjab Medical College
Institution: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences
Language: English
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4409002568