site.btaHealth Professionals Caring for Cancer Patients to Decline by 4.1 Mln Worldwide by 2040, Oncologist Assoc. Prof. Zhelyazko Arabadzhiev Says

Health professionals caring for cancer patients will decline by 4.1 million people worldwide by 2040, including 56% of all nurses and 12% of all doctors, oncologist Assoc. Prof. Zhelyazko Arabadzhiev, President of the Bulgarian Scientific Society of Immuno-Oncology said Tuesday during a forum on the socio-economic burden of diseases. Medics from different specialties participated in the event. According to Arabadzhiev, 56% of those health professionals will be nurses, 12% - doctors and the rest are other medical specialists.

In the next 20 years, incidences of malignant cancer are expected to increase by 22%, but meanwhile, the care of cancer patients is expected to decrease by up to three percent, as well. However, the five-year survival rate among patients suffering from prostate cancer, breast cancer and colon cancer has improved over the past 20 years. A sustainable model of cancer care is achieved by increasing the effectiveness of therapy and by motivating the population and medical professionals, Arabadzhiev said.

In his words, Bulgaria should raise its level of health culture, carry out population screening, improve digitalization, work together with universities to promote innovation in medicine, and optimize the patient care pathway to shorten the time from diagnosis to proper treatment, he added.

In 2017, some USD 111 billion were spent worldwide on oncology medicines and this number is projected to triple by 2026, Arabadzhiev emphasized. According to him, this will be a big social burden that society will have to pay. However, this also leads to additional benefits for patients and society. Most money will be spent on drugs against breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, and prostate cancer, he explained.

Any health insurance system's goal should be to provide more benefits to patients but at a lower cost to society, the doctor noted.

The participants in the forum agreed that healthcare spending should be seen as an investment, screening programmes should be organized, patients should have access to innovative diagnostics and innovative treatments, help and psychological support should be provided to patients suffering from cancer and palliative care should be provided, as well.