40% of cancer cases can be avoided by following healthy lifestyles (no smoking, correct diet and constant physical activity). Among chronic diseases, cancer is the one that can benefit most from primary prevention, as demonstrated by hundreds of scientific studies. And prevention must inspire the activity of the scientific society Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) and the Ministry of Health, both to protect the health of citizens and to guarantee the sustainability of the healthcare system, reduce access to emergency rooms and the lists of waiting. This is the meaning of the meeting between the Aiom delegation and the general director of Prevention of the Minister of Health, Francesco Vaia, which took place today at the dicastery.
Oncology prevention also means compliance with screening and vaccination against the HPV virus, which can lead to the eradication of HPV-related tumors. And information campaigns must reach the greatest number of citizens of all ages, starting from the youngest. “We are convinced that only thanks to strong collaboration with the institutions can prevention messages be transmitted to all citizens – say Francesco Perrone (president of Aiom) and Saverio Cinieri (president of the Aiom Foundation) -. Reducing the burden of disease is a duty for a scientific company like Aiom. We must increasingly commit ourselves so that prevention becomes, also through collaboration with family doctors, a daily tool starting from school desks, to have healthy adults”.
In Italy, in 2023, an estimated 395,000 new cancer diagnoses were made. In the post-pandemic period, we are witnessing a wave of cases, if we consider that, in three years, the increase was 18,400 diagnoses (there were 376,600 in 2020). “As general director of Prevention and under the impetus of Minister Schillaci – explains Vaia – I am particularly involved in this activity and I see with great favor the development of collaborations with scientific societies such as Aiom, because tumors represent one of the great public health issues Today, thanks to new therapies, it is possible to make the disease chronic and, in some cases, to achieve recovery. However, due to the constant increase in new diagnoses, it is essential to try to intervene at all levels to avoid the development of the disease. Collaboration between Aiom and the General Directorate of Prevention of the Ministry of Health will develop in the coming weeks with concrete campaigns and activities that will involve the entire population”.
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