To fight the looming cancer crisis in Africa, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is assembling many of the world′s leading cancer experts in Cape Town on 11-16 December. "Cancer is a disease that is spreading very fast in the developing world and the IAEA has come to realize that we need to do much more to combat cancer in this part of the world," says IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei in a video address to the conference. "I hope this event will be the first of many events that would enable us to work together - national governments, international organisations, civil society - to help combat this dreadful disease and provide quality of life to our fellow human beings." With the support of African Nobel Laureates Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk, this unprecedented gathering will bring together senior representatives from major national and international cancer organisations. Together with leading public figures and specialists they will assess the growing cancer burden in Africa and focus on building effective cancer control programmes at the national and regional levels. The IAEA is sponsoring the intensive workshops using funds awarded for the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize. "With likeminded bodies, it (IAEA) is active in mobilising public awareness and financial support for improving cancer treatment in countries where there is a great need," says Nelson Mandela in a written address to be delivered at the opening of the conference. "In these countries," he continues, "improved access to skill and technology can often make the difference between life and death." Cancer is the second most common cause of death worldwide after cardiovascular disease. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates 7.6 million people died of cancer in 2005 and warns of an epidemic with up to 10 million deaths a year by 2015. The majority of new cancer cases are now in low and middle income countries. Faced with the multiple health challenges posed by AIDS/HIV, malaria and tuberculosis (TB), many poor countries simply do not have the resources to fight cancer. For women in Africa, the most common cancers are of the breast or cervix. Men are frequently afflicted by cancer of the oesophagus, lung and prostate, although in 13 African countries severely affected by the AIDS epidemic, it is Kaposi sarcoma. Professor Raymond Abratt, Head of Radiation Oncology at Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, says cancer education and screening programmes for certain cancers have been introduced in a number of impoverished communities. But these need to be extended so that more patients may benefit. "We now seek other freedoms in our care of patients with cancer;" he says. "We seek freedom from preventable cancers, freedom for treatable cancers and freedom from the sufferings which may come from cancer." The IAEA′s Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy, or "PACT", was established in 2004 to help achieve these goals. Building on the IAEA′s 30 years of expertise in promoting radiotherapy, PACT aims to help get more cancer treatment facilities up and running in the world′s developing regions, along with the trained personnel to operate them. "PACT is building partnerships with the WHO and other international cancer-control organisations so that the battle against cancer can be waged at country level. This includes cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis and palliation, and more importantly education and training of professionals," says PACT Head Massoud Samiei. Current estimates suggest that several billion US$ are needed in the next 10 to 15 years if the cancer crisis in low and middle income nations is to be contained effectively. The meeting opens at 09.00 on Monday, 11 December, at BOE, Clocktower V&A Waterfront, Cape Town. At 11.45, there will be a press conference/panel discussion with opening session speakers. These include: - Raymond Abratt, Director of the IAEA Special Event, Professor and Head of Radiation Oncology at the Groote Schuur Hospital and University of Cape Town. - Ali Boussaha, Head of the Africa Section, Department of Technical Cooperation, IAEA. - Ian T. Magrath, eminent oncologist and President of the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR), an international organisation dedicated to improving cancer treatment and research in underserved countries. - Twalib Ngoma, Head of Tanzania′s National Cancer Institute and advisor to the Tanzanian Ministry of Health on cancer control. He is also Hhead of the Tanzania office for the International Network for Cancer Treatment and Research (INCTR). - Cheryl de la Ray, Deputy Vice Chancellor of the University of Cape Town. - Massoud Samiei, Head of the IAEA′s Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy (PACT). All sessions of the five day meeting are open to journalists. Please see the new PACT brochure [pdf].