The power of cross-border collaboration for cancer control

In this spirit, the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and the China Anti-Cancer Association  (CACA), a recent UICC Vanguard Partner, have initiated an ambitious three-year partnership to accelerate cancer control within the region and globally.

As part of this milestone partnership, a joint UICC-CACA session was held during the conference with the aim of sharing concrete examples of how collaborations between UICC members from Belt and Road countries can address current gaps and challenges in data, universal health coverage, global TNM standards, and national cancer control planning.

“This joint event between UICC and CACA was a powerful recognition of the rising burden of cancer and the urgent need for a shared response among the Belt and Road countries,” says Professor Daiming Fan, President of CACA. “We are convinced that our collaboration with UICC is the key to addressing this shared challenge, and through this partnership we will be able to better harness the knowledge in cancer, align synergies, explore possibilities and cement cross-border commitments to building a world less burdened by cancer.” 

Key cancer control leaders, including UICC’s President-Elect, Dr Anil D’Cruz and Professor Daiming Fan, President of CACA and UICC Board Member spoke at the joint session. Both offered their reflections on how to leverage current opportunities at a regional and a global level to ensure better access to cancer care among countries committed to the Belt and Road Initiative.

As part of the wider collaboration between UICC and CACA, eight cancer professionals from China were selected to receive a UICC Technical fellowship sponsored by CACA. Each fellow will have the opportunity to visit leading international institutions later this year to equip them with new skills and techniques. The UICC Technical fellowships were awarded to the eight recipients at a formal ceremony during the conference.

“This will be my first time studying abroad and I am honoured to have been given the opportunity to study at the International Agency for Research on Cancer,” says Dr Yubei Huang, Associate Researcher at Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital, who will travel to Lyon, France to visit the headquarters of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). “I hope this experience will help me bring change in the field of cancer prevention and cancer screening.”

CACA continues to show its commitment to strengthening the region’s work in cancer control. Under the sponsorship of CACA, 10 cancer organisations have joined as UICC as new members. UICC membership will help support the organisations in strengthening their community and collaboration, help build their capacity and offer opportunities to participate in UICC activities and events such as the upcoming World Cancer Leaders’ Summit in Kazakhstan in October.

We welcome our new UICC members, sponsored by CACA:

• Hubei Cancer Hospital
• Guangxi Medical University Affiliated Cancer Hospital
• Nantong Cancer Hospital
• Rizhao Renmin Hospital
• Shanxi Provincial Cancer Hospital
• Chongqing University Cancer Hospital
• Haerbin Cancer Hospital
• Jilin Provincial Cancer Hospital
• Guangzhou Concord Cancer Center
• Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital

This partnership between UICC and CACA demonstrates the value and impact of how strong cooperation can accelerate efforts in cancer control within a country, its region and at a global level.