Scope of the Problem
The five main types of gynecological cancers are cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, vulvar. The rarest form of all gynecological cancers is fallopian tube cancer. The comprehensive global cancer statistics from the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health organization indicate that gynecological cancers accounted for 16% of the 6.7 million estimated new cancer cases among women in the world in 2012. The global burden for gynecological cancers worldwide in 2012 are outlined in Table 1.
| Table 1. 2012 Gynecological Cancer Incidence Worldwide | ||
| Gynecological cancer type | New Cases | Deaths |
| Cervical cancer | 528,000 | 266,000 |
| Ovarian cancer | 239,000 | 152,000 |
| Uterine cancer | 322,000 | 76,000 |
| Vaginal cancer | * | * |
| Vulvar | * | * |
| Fallopian tube** | * | * |
*Statistics not available
**Rarest form of all gynecological cancers accounting for only one percent of all gynecological cancers.
Source: GLOBOCAN 2012, Estimated Cancer Incidence, Mortality and Prevalence Worldwide in 2012. [Internet]. International Agency for Research on Cancer, World Health Organization. Available from: globocan.iarc.fr, accessed on 12/27/2017.
Women deserve equal access to optimal preventive and therapeutic health care, particularly for women’s specific cancers. Globe-athon hopes to amplify this message through our coordinated grassroots efforts.