Feature‐classified cancer burden study makes cancer control more targeted

Cancer has been regarded as the main obstacle for human life expectancy growth, and it has become continuous concern for public health about how to control the disease burden of cancer. According to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, “By 2030, premature mortality from noncommunicable diseases will be reduced by onethird through prevention, treatment and promotion of mental health and well-being.” In pursuit of this goal, countries around the world are committed to improving cancer treatment and creating new diagnostic and therapeutic technologies on a constant basis. However, despite substantial financial and human resources being spent on cancer prevention and treatment each year, cancer incidence and mortality rates in some nations continue to climb dramatically. For instance, the survival rate of children with cancer in low-income countries is as low as 20%, even with increasing annual expenditure on child care. Aside from the substantial disease burden imposed by cancer, there is also significant heterogeneity in cancer incidence and mortality across countries, which is directly tied to fundamental gaps in medical technology and health infrastructure. It has been established that the change of cancer profile and its transition model are the result of economic, social, lifestyle and other risk factors, in addition to population increase and aging. In reality, the cancer burden transition model has revealed disparities between developed and developing countries. In developed countries, for example, the incidence of infection-related malignancies is gradually falling, and the total incidence of cancer is stabilizing or even declining, owing primarily to effective prevention, early identification and treatment. In contrast, the mortality rate of several noninfectious malignancies, such as breast, lung and colorectal cancers, remains rising quickly in emerging countries. For the next decades, the global cancer burden is expected to have the greatest impact and fastest-growing trend in middleand low-income nations, many of which are already confronting significant circumstances. On the other hand, for a certain cancer, the conversion trend in different countries frequently shows diverse or even contradictory features, considerably complicating global cancer control. For example, over the last three decades, the incidence of colorectal cancer has risen rapidly in Southeast Asia while progressively dropping in developed countries such as the United States. Similarly, although the death rate of lung cancer has been dropping in rich European and American countries, it has been progressively rising in low-income countries, with both incidence and mortality rates increasing. Although various research studies on cancer trends have been undertaken, the majority of them were simply grouped according to geographies or economic considerations, and there is little portrayal based on a feature-classified cancer spectrum. Furthermore, in terms of correlation analysis between cancer transition model and its influencing factors, present work is primarily based on hypothesis, and the data-driven advantages have not been completely utilized. Given the many influencing factors and accessible costs in different nations, a comprehensive panorama of global cancer transition is required for more effective cancer prevention and intervention, including the exploration of novel methods and new strategies. In this issue of the journal, Yang et al employed a growth mixture model to analyze the burden changes for 10 major types of cancers in 204 countries, defining the burden changes for major cancer types and revealing global cancer transition patterns. The global cancer transition patterns were subsequently clarified using the latent class analysis method. Ultimately, the authors distinguished three levels of global cancer burden: unfavorable, intermediate and favorable. Countries in the unfavorable stage have a rapid increase in the burden of lung, breast and colorectal cancers, which is frequently associated by unfavorable economic variables such as a low social population index, poor health expenditure, low gross domestic product and a higher maternal mortality ratio. Countries in the favorable stage, on the other hand, show a gradual drop in cancer incidence and mortality rates, as well as greater levels of socioeconomic development. Particularly, this new work provides a comprehensive picture of global cancer transitions and provides a foundation for targeted intervention efforts. The theory of cancer transitions was proven and extended using a data-driven classification method. According to our study, early detection, improved treatment and kinds of cancer risk factors were all shifting the landscape of cancer transitions, and more favorable trends for cancer mortality were identified than for cancer incidence. Given that the incidence and mortality increase trends in emerging countries have also been observed in developed countries, the prevention and control experience in developed countries is of significant value as a reference point for other countries and territories. Furthermore, among 10 major types of cancer studied, the relationship between cancer transition patterns and cancer burden was compared. And it turns out that the strongest correlation was determined in the trajectories of lung and breast cancer in men and women, respectively, which can be employed as a distinguishing indicator in the control of these two cancers. Overall, the feature-classified cancer burden study, powered by a novel data-based categorization method, has offered a more concise and complete panorama for global cancer transition, making national cancer control more targeted, particularly in emerging economies. Accepted: 28 July 2023