Mexico will host the World Summit of Cancer Leaders 2017 Cities leading change, a high-level meeting in which leaders and decision-makers will participate in the establishment of public policies that contribute to achieving the goal of reducing by 25 percent deaths for this pathology in 2025.

With this designation, Mexico becomes the first Latin American country to host the global meeting, in recognition of the strategies it carries out, such as the National Cancer Registry and the National Cancer Program.

In Mexico every year, there are 190 thousand new cases of cancer and 80 thousand Mexicans die because of this. In addition, seven out of 10 patients get to advanced stages of the disease.

At a press conference, the Director General of the Mexico´s National Cancerology Institute (INCan by its initials in spanish), Abelardo Meneses Garcia, reported that the Summit will take place on November 13 and 14 in Mexico City and will involve about 300 personalities who have distinguished themselves for their work in areas such as: prevention, access to treatments, technology development and medicines.

He stressed that the objectives of this meeting are to sensitize decision makers to be more effective in the treatment of cancer, because in many countries is a major cause of mortality.

There will also be an exchange of innovative ideas to reverse the cancer epidemic; defining convincing messages to support the global call to action against cancer; create a force that drives public policies in Mexico and amplify the visibility of the disease the international and the public health agenda.

Meneses Garcia detailed that the theme chosen this year is Cities leading the change, which seeks to analyze how to involve more the community and its governors in the implementation of prevention policies and their establishment locally.

He pointed out that the holding of the Cancer Leaders’ Summit is an opportunity for Mexico to capitalize the efforts of the institutions to consolidate the implementation of the Comprehensive Program for Cancer Prevention and Control and seek an increase in the investment for prevention, early detection, treatment and attention that results in a decrease of the incidence and mortality.

The organization of the Summit will be in charge of INCan and the International Union against Cancer. It will be attended by Heads of State and Ministers of Health of Latin America, Queens, Princesses and First Ladies; as well as mayors and city leaders from Asia and Africa; authorities and executives of agencies of the United Nations, the World Bank, and representatives of the pharmaceutical industry.

Attended to the press conference INCAN's Chief of Institutional Linkage, Dr. Laura Suchil Bernal.

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