Cancer was responsible for one in six deaths in 2020. The fight against it has taken steps back during the pandemic, and even the most developed healthcare systems are struggling to diagnose and treat patients quickly, disastrous for a condition in which time is of the essence.
The Middle East needs to take this threat particularly seriously, because very little is known about its specific regional burden. Last week saw an early but important step in the right direction, when 30 specialists, led by Dr Humaid Al Shamsi, director of oncology at Burjeel Medical City and president of the Emirates Oncology Society, published Cancer In The Arab World, which is thought to be the first book dedicated to cancer data in the region.
It took five years to complete and has chapters for each of the 22 Arab countries. The specificity of this approach is needed. While cancer's devastation is a global problem, it manifests differently by region, with genetics, culture and politics only a few of the epidemiological factors that need to be taken into account when treating patients. Dr Al Shamsi stresses that the Middle East differs particularly in terms of "age of onset, stage at presentation, awareness and acceptance of disease and treatment, and most importantly, eagerness to seek treatment abroad rather than from within the country".
From a purely scientific standpoint, cancer's effects on a western patient are better understood than on a non-westerner. Studies have been concentrated on populations in Europe and North America, a problem not just when it comes to cancer, but health in general. Fortunately, genetic research in the Middle East is in a better place than it was. Launched in 2020, the Emirati Genome Programme, which aims to build a repository of local genomic data, is going from strength to strength. But more work and, crucially, data is still needed to turn any findings from it into real-world treatments.
Health is holistic, and beyond cancer Arabs fare poorly in a number of areas that relate to it. The World Health Organisation lists tobacco use, high body mass index, low fruit and vegetable intake and lack of physical activity as key risk factors for the disease. Lebanon, for example, has the sixth highest percentage of tobacco users worldwide; Nine out of the 20 most obese countries worldwide are in the region. As a result, the outlook is bleak.
A key part of the book focuses on the challenge of curing and caring for Arab cancer patients. A particularly important difficulty is the delay in which many seek medical help. The authors suggest this might be down to a lack of understanding, even embarrassment. For some, conflict and instability is the most obvious barrier to prompt care; More than 400 medics left impoverished Lebanon in 2020, and the World Bank estimates that only half of Yemen's health facilities are fully functioning.
In a sign of scale of the task ahead, Cancer In The Arab World does not offer concrete solutions to overcome the challenge. This does not diminish its huge, perhaps historic, importance. Understanding a problem is key to solving it, and it is to be hoped that the book's data can become an important starting point in what will be a long road ahead.
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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SHADOWS%20AND%20LIGHT%3A%20THE%20EXTRAORDINARY%20LIFE%20OF%20JAMES%20MCBEY
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ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
MATCH INFO
Everton v Tottenham, Sunday, 8.30pm (UAE)
Match is live on BeIN Sports
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs;Â Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
India team for Sri Lanka series
Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharath (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Sourabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
T20 squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Avesh Khan
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
