ABU DHABI // New guidelines aimed at improving the quality of care for cancer patients will be unveiled this weekend at a meeting of health experts from across the region. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network has spent a year gathering material from experts across the Middle East and North Africa, and their findings will be presented at the Abu Dhabi Armed Forces Club today until Sunday.
The event is being sponsored by the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD) and Seha, the health services company. Zaid al Siksek, chief executive of HAAD, said the event would establish higher standards of co-operation on cancer treatment. "For HAAD this is a significant public health initiative and an opportunity to broaden our outreach to clinicians across the region," he said. The cancer network is a non-profit alliance of more than 20 of the world's leading cancer centres. It works to produce guidelines on prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Oliver Harrison, head of public health at HAAD, said the guidelines would result in more extensive screening, leading to early detection of the disease and a higher rate of survival. munderwood@thenational.ae