Editor's Word

 

Dear Colleagues,

The 2nd Combined Conference on “Cancer Screening and Early Detection in the Gulf Region: TIME TO ACT” held in Riyadh on 27-29 March 2018 was a big success. This is the 2nd annual series of combined cancer conferences in the gulf organized by the Gulf Federation for Cancer Control and the Gulf Centre for Cancer Control and Prevention, under the office of the Gulf Health Council. The conference was hosted by King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre in Riyadh.

Through the good leadership of Dr. Ali Saeed Al-Zahrani, Executive Director of GCCCP, the 3-day conference aimed to address the local, regional and global issues on the importance of population-based versus opportunistic cancer screening programs from cost-effectiveness concerns and as a significant tool in reducing economic and social burdens of cancer care in the Gulf Region; it is in this context that if screening programs are implemented properly they can bring huge benefits and help alleviate the burden of cancer in the gulf region. The 3rd Combined Cancer Conference in the Gulf will be held in Bahrain in 2019.

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Another successful conference on Genitourinary and Gynecological Cancers: Recent Updates was concluded in Kuwait on April 14-16, 2018. The conference was organized by the Kuwait Cancer Control Center under the patronage of H.E. the Minister of Health, Dr. Basel H. Al Sabah. The 3-day conference held a series of special lectures by international and regional oncology experts who presented their latest studies and updates on these two cancer topics. It was also during this occasion that H.E. Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Awadi, Chair of Kuwait Cancer Society and Smoking Prevention, was awarded the “symbol of cancer awareness” as a recognition to his long and unwavering work in promoting cancer prevention and awareness in Kuwait and in the region.

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Finally, after witnessing a fruitful cooperation on several joint activities between the GCCCP and the GFFCC in the gulf, efforts are now underway in forging a partnership between the Arab Medical Association Against Cancer (AMAAC) and the Gulf Centre for Cancer Control and Prevention in the Arab region. As we all know, our region and its people share common ethnicities, culture, risk and environmental factors, habits and lifestyle and by combining the efforts of the whole Arab world we could maximize our resources in fighting cancer as our common goal.

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