Darmstadt, Germany, November 1, 2016 - Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, a leading science and technology company, and the American Cancer Society (ACS) today released a report that shows all four of the top causes of cancer deaths in women worldwide are mostly preventable or can often be detected early, when treatment is more successful. The report, titled "The Global Burden of Cancer in Women," is the first tangible output from an innovative partnership between Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, and the American Cancer Society focused on raising awareness and strengthening advocacy around women's cancers. 
 
 "We are proud to partner with the American Cancer Society to address the impact cancer has on women worldwide," said Belén Garijo, member of the Executive Board and CEO Healthcare at Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. "This collaboration is a first-of-its-kind public-private partnership that recognizes that no one sector can tackle this challenge alone. Improving women's health and well-being has an uplifting ripple effect on our world, and we know when women do better, our communities do better." 
 
 The research examines the increasing impact of cancer among women in low- and middle-income countries - and outlines potential solutions to minimize the economic and societal impact of the disease for women, their families and healthcare systems. 
 
 Cancer is the second leading cause of death in women, with breast, colorectal, lung and cervical cancers claiming the most lives each year. With cancer rates on the rise as the global population grows and ages, the number of women who will lose their lives to cancer is expected to increase, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. In 2012, there were 3.5 million deaths among women due to cancer; by 2030, that number is expected to increase to 5.5 million deaths - a more than 57 percent increase in less than two decades. Increased education and prevention efforts will be essential to addressing this growing global health crisis. 
 
 "It's incumbent upon both the public and private sectors, as members of the global health community, to find ways to reduce the impacts of cancer on women by increasing prevention and treatment, saving the lives of women across the globe," said Ambassador Sally Cowal, senior vice president, global cancer control at the American Cancer Society. 
 
 In addition to the physical challenges women with cancer and their families experience, the burden of cancer also extends to the economy. The study found that in 2009, the global economic burden of cancer was estimated at about $286 billion, and much of that cost was due to premature death of members of the workforce. In the United States alone in 2008, years of productive life lost due to cancer in women corresponded to $82 billion, not to mention the many professional achievements that might have been realized. 
 
 The report was released at the World Cancer Congress during a panel moderated by Ambassador Cowal. Other participants included HRH Princess Dina Mired of Jordan; Dr. Alise Reicin, Head of Global Clinical Development in the biopharma business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany; and Dr. Edward L. "Ted" Trimble, director, Center for Global Health at the National Cancer Institute. 
 
 This partnership will also catalyse the evolution of the American Cancer Society's' All of Me Young Scholars program, which aims to educate and cultivate health and civil society professionals in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and India to affect meaningful change in prevention and early detection of cancers among women in low- and middle-income countries. 
 
 This report is part of the involvement of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, with the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative, which explicitly links the issue of women's health and well-being with economic growth. The full "Global Burden of Cancer in Women" report is available http://www. cancer. org/ research/ cancerfactsstatistics/ global-burden-cancer-in-women . 
 
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 About the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies Initiative 
 
 Merck KGaA, Darrmstadt, Germany, is a founding partner of the Healthy Women, Healthy Economies initiative, which brings together the evidence about women's health and well-being and its impact on economic growth with the best practices that governments, employers and non-governmental organizations can follow. It aims to identify and implement policies that advance women's health and well-being to increase their economic participation in the societies in which they live. 
 
 About the American Cancer Society 
 
 The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks in part to our progress, nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. We're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org 
 
 About the American Cancer Society's All of Me Young Scholars Program 
 
 The American Cancer Society's All of Me Young Scholars program aims to educate and cultivate young health and civil society professionals around the world to bring their energy, voice and new ideas to the new and growing field of integration of women's cancer prevention and early detection. 
 
 About Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany 
 
 All Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, press releases are distributed by e-mail at the same time they become available on the EMD Group Website. In case you are a resident of the USA or Canada please go to http://www. emdgroup. com/ subscribe to register again for your online subscription of this service as our newly introduced geo-targeting requires new links in the email. You may later change your selection or discontinue this service. 
 
 Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is a leading science and technology company in healthcare, life science and performance materials. Around 50,000 employees work to further develop technologies that improve and enhance life - from biopharmaceutical therapies to treat cancer or multiple sclerosis, cutting-edge systems for scientific research and production, to liquid crystals for smartphones and LCD televisions. In 2015, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, generated sales of € 12.85 billion in 66 countries. 
 
 Founded in 1668, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, is the world's oldest pharmaceutical and chemical company. The founding family remains the majority owner of the publicly listed corporate group. Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, holds the global rights to the Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, name and brand. The only exceptions are the United States and Canada, where the company operates as EMD Serono, MilliporeSigma and EMD Performance Materials. ||||| (CNN) The risk of dying from cervical cancer might be much higher than experts previously thought, and women are encouraged to continue recommended cancer screenings. 
 
 Black women are dying from cervical cancer at a rate 77% higher than previously thought, and white women are dying at a rate 47% higher, according to a study published in the journal Cancer on Monday. 
 
 The study found that previous estimates of cervical cancer death rates didn't account for women who had their cervixes removed in hysterectomy procedures, which eliminates the risk of developing the cancer. 
 
 "Prior calculations did not account for hysterectomy because the same general method is used across all cancer statistics," said Anne Rositch, assistant professor of epidemiology at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and lead author of the study. 
 
 That method is to measure cancer's impact across a total population without accounting for factors outside of gender, she said. 
 
 There were about 12,990 new cases of cervical cancer in the United States last year and 4,120 cervical cancer deaths, according to the National Cancer Institute 
 
 'A better understanding of the magnitude' 
 
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 The data were limited to only 12 states in the country, but the researchers noted that the data still provided a nationally representative sample of women. 
 
 Then, the researchers collected data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System on how many women in 2000 to 2012, 20 and older, reported ever having a hysterectomy. They used that data to adjust the cervical cancer deaths rates. 
 
 Before the adjustment, the data showed that the cervical cancer killed about 5.7 out of 100,000 black women and 3.2 per 100,000 white women. After adjusting for hysterectomies, the rate was 10.1 per 100,000 black women and 4.7 per 100,000 white women. 
 
 The data showed that the racial disparity seen in cervical cancer death rates for black and white women was underestimated by 44% when hysterectomies were not taken into account. 
 
 "We can't tell from our study what might be contributing to the differences in cervical cancer mortality by age and race," Rositch said. "Now that we have a better understanding of the magnitude of the problem, we have to understand the reasons underlying the problem." 
 
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 Cervical cancer is highly preventable in the United States because of the availability of screening tests and a vaccine to prevent human papillomavirus, or HPV, which can cause cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
 
 "Racial disparity may be explained by lack of access or limited access to cervical cancer screening programs among black women when compared to whites," said Dr. Marcela del Carmen, a gynecologic oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, who was not involved in the new study. 
 
 "This gap and disparity need to be addressed with initiatives focusing on better access to prevention or screening programs, better access to HPV vaccination programs and improved access and adherence to standard of care treatment for cervical cancer," she said. 
 
 The new findings add to the current understanding of cervical cancer's impact on different communities, said Dr. John Farley, a practicing gynecologic oncologist and professor at Creighton University School of Medicine at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Arizona. 
 
 "It lets us know that there is substantial work to do to investigate and alleviate the racial minority disparity in cervical cancer in the US," said Farley, who was not involved in the study but co-authored an editorial about the new findings in the journal Cancer on Monday. 
 
 "Those who get cancer, many times, do not have access to screening," he said. 
 
 Even though cervical cancer mortality rates are higher than previously thought, Farley said that he thinks the current screening recommendations for cervical cancer are still adequate. However, he added, more women should have access to screenings and other preventive measures. 
 
 Rositch said, "It may be that some women are not obtaining screening according to our current guidelines, not necessarily that guideline-based care is insufficient." 
 
 How to prevent and screen for cervical cancer 
 
 The American Cancer Society recommends that women begin cervical cancer screenings at age 21 by having a Pap test every three years. Then, beginning at 30, women should have a Pap test combined with a HPV test every five years. However, the recommendations are not universal among all expert groups. 
 
 Symptoms of cervical cancer tend to not appear until the cancer has advanced, which is why screening and HPV vaccinations are urged. 
 
 "We have a vaccine which can eliminate cervical cancer, like polio, that is currently available, and only 40% of girls age 13 to 17 have been vaccinated," said Farley, co-author of the editorial. "This is an epic failure of our health care system in taking care of women in general and minorities specifically." 
 
 Women over 65 might not need to continue screening if they don't have a history of cervical cancer or negative Pap test results, according to the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists 
 
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 A study published in the journal JAMA Oncology last week found that among a group of 1,868 men in the United States, about 45% had genital HPV infections and only about 10% had been vaccinated. 
 
 "Male HPV vaccination may have a greater effect on HPV transmission and cancer prevention in men and women than previously estimated," the researchers wrote in that study.
– Two disturbing reports were issued this week on the cancer front, with one noting women will see a spike in cancer deaths over the next decade or so—5.5 million cancer deaths by the year 2030. The other report adds that women afflicted with breast cancer alone could nearly double from 1.7 million diagnosed last year to 3.2 million by 2030, the Guardian reports. The first report, compiled by Merck and the American Cancer Society and released at the World Cancer Congress in Paris on Tuesday, says the predicted surge in cancer deaths would amount to a 57% increase, per a press release. The same report notes all four top cancers—breast, lung, colorectal, and cervical—are mostly preventable or easily detected early on, aiding treatment. The second report, based on three papers in the Lancet, adds cervical cancer may rise by as much as 25% by 2030, leading to 700,000 diagnoses. That report also notes women in low- and middle-income countries carry much of the burden of breast and cervical cancers, with less access to quality care and a greater likelihood of dying from their illnesses than women in richer nations. Perhaps a bit ironically, some of the cancers in the lower-income countries used to be prevalent only in higher-income ones, but as the poorer countries started going through "rapid economic transition," the women there began experiencing risk factors like their more affluent counterparts, including "physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, obesity, and reproductive factors" like putting off having kids, per an ACS VP. "The global community cannot continue to ignore the problem—hundreds of thousands of women are dying unnecessarily every year," Richard Sullivan, co-author of the Lancet report, says in the release. (Good news on the pancreatic cancer front.)