Cross-cutting issues

In addition to the four main work areas, a number of cross cutting themes apply throughout the CUP Global work.

> About CUP Global

Consideration of health inequalities, cancer disparities and a global perspective are central to effective cancer prevention and control. Below we outline our plans for addressing these factors.

There have been great improvements in early detection, diagnosis and treatment for certain cancers and a greater awareness of environmental risk factors especially dietary factors, in part due to the pioneering work of WCRF’s First, Second and Third Expert Reports.

However, there are substantial differences within and between countries in individuals’ likelihood of having a cancer diagnosis and surviving the disease. Typically the most disadvantaged in society have the poorest health outcomes, with differential exposure to risk factors and access to effective screening and treatment services contributing.

CUP Global strives to make globally relevant recommendations for cancer prevention and survivorship, but has been hampered by limited data availability especially in low and middle income countries (LMIC). This has prevented the synthesis of inequalities related data and limited analysis by country.

For the future, the ambition is for our work to have both a strong global perspective and focus on inequalities via the following approaches:

  • Exploring how to capture relevant data in CUP Global or commissioning projects to specifically explore these factors
  • Stronger global representation on the CUP Global Panel with potential of developing a global representation advisory group to discuss conclusions and recommendations within a global context. This will ensure that conclusions and recommendations are relevant worldwide and in different contexts through bringing an inequalities lens and strong global representation to Panel meetings
  • Advocating for increased research in LMIC and for research to examine and report socio-economic status outcomes
  • Working with WCRF International’s Policy Team to understand the policy implications of CUP Global outputs and develop policy recommendations
  • Working with WCRF International’s Research Funding Team to identify research gaps and continue to support  research and capacity building in LMIC via the Grant Programme and our Academy activities

> Read an overview of the Global Cancer Update Programme
> Find out more about the CUP Global Strategy