Not just excellent drugs and structures.
The level of education also has an impact on the treatment path of a cancer patient.
In Italy, around a quarter of cancer deaths are in fact attributable to low levels of education.
Almost 30 thousand (29,727) cancer deaths in 2019 in our country, in the population between 30 and 84 years old, are related to poor education (22,271 deaths in men and 7456 in women), as highlighted in a study published in the Journal of Public Health.
The socio-economic determinants capable of influencing cancer mortality therefore include the level of the cycle of studies, which often also influences subsequent earning capacity.
Shining a spotlight on this aspect - in view of World Cancer Day which is celebrated on 4 February - is the national conference 'Close the Care Gap', promoted by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Aiom (Italian Association of Medical Oncology) and the Aiom Foundation , with the intervention of Rocco Bellantone, President of the ISS.
It should also be considered that a cancer diagnosis can cause further financial difficulties for patients.
It is the so-called financial toxicity, which affects 26% of people with cancer and is linked to various factors, including the costs that patients have to bear to go to places of treatment.
Suffice it to say that, in 2022, almost 28 thousand cancer patients changed Regions for treatment, in particular for surgery.
In 2023, in Italy, an estimated 395,000 new cancer diagnoses were made.
"People with a high level of education - states Saverio Cinieri, president of the Aiom Foundation - have more tools to understand the importance of prevention. Hence the higher cancer mortality rate in less educated citizens. It is necessary to strengthen actions aimed at spreading a healthy and active lifestyle at all ages".
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