On Nov 9, 2006, the World Health Assembly will appoint a new Director-General to lead the World Health Organization (WHO) for the next 5 years. Oncologists could be forgiven for being under-informed about this important event because, once again, the list of nominees highlights the worldwide under-appreciation of the rapidly increasing incidence of cancer and the devastating effect it will have on public health if far-reaching action is not taken immediately. WHO's predictions suggest that by 2020,16 million people will develop cancer; 10 million will die from it everyyear; and over half of cases will be in developing countries. These figures are all the more saddening given that 40% of cancers are preventable, and a third can be cured if detected early.
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