编者按：澳大利亚在肿瘤防治领域既有挑战，也有希望。澳大利亚政府正积极行动，制定了首个癌症国家计划，致力于解决肿瘤领域诊疗水平不均衡问题，以确保每个澳大利亚人都能获得理想的治疗。在“2023中国整合肿瘤学大会（2023 CCHIO）”中，“肿瘤瞭望”采访了澳大利亚癌症协会（Cancer Australia）首席执行官Dorothy Mary Keefe教授，请她介绍澳大利亚的肿瘤防治工作现状及未来发展愿景。

 

Editor’s note:Australia faces challenges in the field of cancer prevention and treatment.However，under the challenge，there is also hope.The Australian government is actively taking action to develop the first national cancer plan，committed to addressing inequality in the healthcare sector and ensuring that every Australian person has access to the highest quality of cancer care.On the eve of the"2023 Chinese Congress on Holistic Integrative Oncology(2023 CCHIO)"，"Oncology Frontier"interviewed Dr.Dorothy Mary Keefe，the CEO of Cancer Australia，to introduce the current status and future development vision of cancer prevention and treatment in Australia.

 

 

Oncology Frontier:Could you please introduce the current state of cancer prevalence，diagnosis，and treatment in Australia?

 

Dorothy Mary Keefe教授：澳大利亚的人口仅为2600万，年新发肿瘤约16.5万例，意味着到85岁时，将有一半的人罹患癌症。针对该问题，我们已实施了三项筛查项目：乳腺癌筛查、宫颈癌筛查和肠癌筛查。如今，我们正着手引入第四项筛查——肺癌筛查。所有符合筛查标准的人都将纳入这些项目，若未能参与筛查，则将依据症状表现予以诊断。

 

澳大利亚拥有覆盖2600万国民的全民医疗健康保障制度，该制度整合了联邦政府与各州、各地区的医疗资源，实现了公共医疗资源与私人医疗资源的融合，以确保每一位澳大利亚公民都能享受到医疗保障。然而医疗资源的可及性在一定程度上仍受居住地和个人背景的影响。当前，澳大利亚土著与托雷斯海峡岛民的健康保障状况尤为堪忧，这是我们未来工作中需要重点关注的问题。

 

Dr.Dorothy Mary Keefe:Australia has a population of only 26 million people，and it is estimated that 165，000 new cases of cancer occur each year，which means that one in two person will develop cancer by the age of 85.For cancer diagnosis and treatment，we have implemented three screening programs:for breast cancer，cervical cancer，and bowel cancer.Currently，we are in the process of introducing a fourth screening program for lung cancer.Everyone who meets the eligibility criteria is invited to participate in these screening programs.If someone does not participate in the screening programs，diagnosis is made based on the presence of symptoms.In Australia，we have a universal health coverage system，which ensures that all 26 million people are covered.This system is a combination of coverage provided by the Commonwealth or federal government，as well as the individual states and territories.It is a hybrid of public and private coverage，but everyone is included.The accessibility of treatment varies depending on your residence and background.In our case，the outcomes for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are not satisfactory，and this is an area we need to focus on in the future.

 

 

Oncology Frontier:Could you talk a little bit about the accessibility of cancer treatment in Australia?

 

Dorothy Mary Keefe教授：澳大利亚地广人稀，人口主要聚集在大城市，农村和偏远地区也有少量分布。我们主要的公立医院都集中于大城市，偏远地区的专业医疗资源相对匮乏。因此，人们有时需要长途跋涉才能获得治疗，或者需要将专科治疗带到农村地区。为了解决这一问题，我们正在持续优化远程医疗服务，使医生能够更便捷地参与其他地区患者的会诊，但现状是实施有效的治疗仍然存在挑战。

 

值得一提的是，我们刚刚发布了首个“澳大利亚癌症计划”，旨在解决医疗领域的不平等问题，并开发互联网医疗，以确保每个人都能获得优质的医疗资源。我们期待该计划的实施，为澳大利亚的医疗事业注入新的活力，推动肿瘤防治工作取得更加显著的成果。

 

Dr.Dorothy Mary Keefe:Australia is a vast country with a relatively small population.While the majority of the population resides in major cities，there are also rural and remote communities.The primary public hospitals are located in these big cities，and as one moves further away from these urban centers，specialized care becomes less accessible.Consequently，individuals sometimes need to travel vast distances to receive treatment，or specialist treatment must be brought out to the rural areas.Fortunately，we are making strides in improving healthcare access through telehealth，which has made consultations between doctors and patients who are not in the same city much more convenient.However，the actual administration of treatment still poses a challenge.Recently，we have launched our inaugural national“Australian cancer plan”that aims to tackle these inequalities and establish a patient navigation model to ensure everyone can access the highest quality care.

 

 

Oncology Frontier:How does the Cancer Australia promote cancer control in Australia?

 

Dorothy Mary Keefe教授：Cancer Australia是澳大利亚政府针对肿瘤问题设置的专门机构。我们的使命是发挥领导力，制定相关政策，并与所有相关方保持密切沟通。我们的工作贯穿肿瘤防治的全过程，包括预防、筛查、诊断、治疗乃至临终关怀等各个环节。在与多方合作伙伴的协同工作中，我们设立并维护了一个信息充实的网站，为大众提供有关肿瘤的各类信息。最近，我们更是推出了“澳大利亚癌症计划（Australian Cancer Plan）”，详细阐述了我们未来10年的工作重点和优先事项。诚邀全行业与我们携手与共，更好的传播信息，互通有无，通过媒体、会议等与各方保持沟通与信息共享，共同努力实现该计划。

 

Dr.Dorothy Mary Keefe:Cancer Australia is a government agency dedicated to cancer.Our responsibilities include providing leadership，developing policies，and maintaining communication with all stakeholders.We support individuals throughout their entire cancer journey，from prevention to end-of-life care.We collaborate with various partners，maintain informative websites，and have recently launched the“Australian Cancer Plan”website，which outlines our priorities for the next decade.Through this plan，we invite the entire sector to collaborate with us in implementation efforts.We engage actively in various media channels，social media platforms，and meetings to connect with diverse stakeholders and share valuable information.

 

 

Oncology Frontier:Integration and cooperation are themes of the CCHIO conference.What are your expectations for the cooperation of cancer prevention and treatment organizations around the world?

 

Dorothy Mary Keefe教授：我深受“肿瘤防治，赢在整合”的鼓舞，个人单打独斗的力量是有限的，众人拾柴火焰高。我们之所以推出了澳大利亚国家肿瘤计划，就是因为个别地、州无法实现国家层面的影响力。同样，放眼全球，没有任何单一的力量能攻克肿瘤，但只要我们团结一心，就能创造更大的机会。比如亚太地区的胃癌、肝癌相对常见，可引领全球发展，我们可以通过学习交流、互通有无，汲取其他国家的专业知识，共促肿瘤诊疗水平提升。国际合作对于临床试验研究、新治疗方法的发展至关重要，我坚信只要我们携手并肩，就能共同克服所有的困难。

 

Dr.Dorothy Mary Keefe:The conference theme of integration and cooperation encourages me because we can achieve so much more when we collaborate than when we work alone.In Australia，the national cancer plan was created because individual states were unable to achieve what the national plan could achieve.Similarly，on a global scale，we cannot solve cancer alone for the entire world，but by working together，we have a better chance.We can learn from experts in other countries，and regions where certain cancers are more prevalent，such as gastric and liver cancers in the Asia Pacific，which offer opportunities for cross-learning.International cooperation is essential for accessing new treatments through collaborative clinical trial research.By collaborating，we can overcome our challenges.

 

Dorothy Mary Keefe教授

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Professor Keefe is the CEO of Cancer Australia，and an honorary Clinical Professor in the School of Medicine at the University of Adelaide.She has had a long career as a Medical Oncologist，and Professor of Cancer Medicine.Her areas of expertise include gastrointestinal toxicity of cancer treatment，Supportive Care in Cancer more broadly，Medical Leadership and Health Reform，and she has published extensively in the Supportive Care literature.She has a long-standing commitment to the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer(MASCC)，and is a past-president.All her work is focused on improving outcomes for patients.