THIS is with reference to the report ``4.1m cancer cases prevalent in Pakistan` (Feb 4), which covered an event related to the World Cancer Day. The known burden of cancer in Pakistan is enormous with nearly 200,000 new patients each year.

The true burden is certainly much higher, as many cases are never detectedor treated. This year`s theme, closing the gapin care,underscored the needfor comprehensive efforts to prevent, diagnose and treat patients with cancer.

The first step in closing the gap remains prevention. Adequate screening enables timely treatment, allowing it to be more effective and less complex with a higher survival rate.

However, accessibility to screening services remains limited. One solution is expanding public-private partnerships that focus on creating equitable screening programmes based on risk factors, such as age and gender.

Given that breast cancer, which is highly amenable to screening, is also the most common cancer in Pakistan, the dividends from investing in screening would be manifold.

Once a cancerous condition is detected, adequate treatment is necessary. It is heartening that there are at least 26 wellestablished multi-disciplinary academic centres in Pakistan where teams of inter-disciplinary doctors, nurses and specialists provide treatment to cancer patients.

The issue is that we do not have enough of these centres.

easy access to such centres along with growth in their numbers is necessary to allow patients to receive the required holistic treatment they surely deserve, including palliative care, when and if required.

Another crucial step in lowering the cancer burden is monitoring and surveillance through registries. Several population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) developed globally allow for the capture of morbidity, mortality and post-treatment outcomes at follow-up. We need tofurther strengthen registries that have been initiated in Pakistan as they are pivotal to developing tangible solutions.

By applying the available knowledge through collective efforts, we can close the existing gaps in care, save lives, and positively impact communities around us.

Dr Adil Hussain Haider Karachi