South Asian Association for Regional Collaboration (SAARC) countries, home to 24% of the world's population, are facing the double burden of disease (ie, where a population experiences both an increasing incidence of cancers typically associated with affluence and a sustained or rising burden of cancers linked to infections and poverty) with non-communicable diseases (NCDs) attributing to 47% of the global burden of disease and to about 60% of all deaths. In 2022, cancer in this region accounted for approximately 9·3% of incidence worldwide and 12% of global mortality. Cancer is one of the major NCDs affecting South Asia, accounting for a large proportion of disability-adjusted life-years lost in this region. The most common cancers are lung, head and neck, and gastrointestinal cancers in both sexes, and cervix and breast cancers in females. The cancer burden is high in SAARC countries, although there are differences among countries and within urban and rural regions of each country, depending on the level of available resources, development, and epidemiological shift. Here we discuss various cancer care issues and challenges throughout the cancer care continuum in the SAARC region. We make an urgent call for regional collaboration to develop, modify, and implement a holistic cancer control plan and formulate a systematic approach directed to address the growing burden of cancer in this region. It is crucial to establish strong political will and commitment to take forward the recommended actions outlined in this Series to overcome and address the cancer crisis in the SAARC region, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 2030 targets.

中文翻译：

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南亚区域合作联盟 （SAARC） 国家的癌症护理和外展：从流行病学和国家癌症控制计划到筛查、诊断和治疗


占世界人口 24% 的南亚区域合作联盟 （SAARC） 国家正面临双重疾病负担（即，人口通常与富裕相关的癌症发病率增加，以及与感染和贫困相关的癌症负担持续或上升）和非传染性疾病 （NCD） 占全球疾病负担的 47% 和所有死亡的约 60%。2022 年，该地区的癌症发病率约占全球发病率的 9·3%，占全球死亡率的 12%。癌症是影响南亚的主要非传染性疾病之一，占该地区残疾调整生命年损失的很大一部分。最常见的癌症是肺癌、头颈癌和胃肠道癌（男女癌），以及女性的宫颈癌和乳腺癌。南盟国家的癌症负担很高，尽管国家之间以及每个国家的城市和农村地区之间存在差异，具体取决于可用资源的水平、发展和流行病学变化。在这里，我们讨论了 SAARC 地区整个癌症护理连续体中的各种癌症护理问题和挑战。我们紧急呼吁区域合作，以制定、修改和实施整体癌症控制计划，并制定系统性方法，以解决该地区日益增长的癌症负担。建立强大的政治意愿和承诺，以推进本系列中概述的建议行动，以克服和解决南盟地区的癌症危机，与 2030 年可持续发展目标的目标保持一致，这一点至关重要。