9th Annual Symposium on Global Cancer Research;Global Cancer Research and Control: Looking Back and Charting a Path Forward, 10-11 March 2021

ABSTRACT

These proceedings contains 114 articles that discuss building toward resilient health systems as the main topic of the first ASGCR plenary. Speakers stressed the significance of collaborations, adaptation, and innovation while highlighting crucial gaps that have appeared in the face of serious threats and emergencies like COVID-19, climate change, and political shifts. In order to close the gap between research and practice in cancer prevention and control in LMICs, this workshop covered evidence-based and cutting-edge solutions. The sometimes transient nature of many programs and initiatives was discussed, along with the difficulties of sustainability in the face of conflicting priorities and dangers to reliable health systems. Nevertheless, even as it discussed past failings, the event also recognised significant gains and started a conversation about resilient building patterns. The second plenary addressed equality in international cancer research, acknowledging the inequalities in the field's translational capacity. Research in LMICs has frequently led to important advances in cancer science, such as the early Burkitt lymphoma treatment trials in Uganda and the human papillomavirus immunisation trials in Costa Rica. The LMIC groups who contributed to these triumphs have frequently not received the rewards of this progress fairly. Inequities in cancer between high-income countries (HIC) and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) also lead to research that fails to take into account the entire scientific worth of studies carried out in LMICs as well as the worldwide burden of disease. Established power imbalances that are frequently related to funding sources can hinder the development of HIC's career and local knowledge. To ensure the translation of research findings, suggestions included multisectoral stakeholder engagement across entire health systems, such as finance and education, as well as proper humility and listening on the part of HIC researchers and funders. Additionally, the chance for two-way information exchange and learning, respecting local knowledge, and developing trust to ensure successful relationships were noted. In turn, successful collaborations and active community involvement were considered as the way to effectively translate and disseminate research findings.