Oral cancer in Papua New Guinea: looking back and looking forward

Oral diseases, including cancers, affect 3.5 billion people globally and remain largely untreated in low- to middle-income countries because of lack of resources. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), oral cancer has, for many decades, been identified as the most common cancer in men, but as the GLOBOCAN 2018 data are estimates extrapolated from surrounding countries, the real prevalence of this disease is not known. The PNG National Health Plan (2011-2020) highlights the need to improve health care, but oral health is not identified as a priority. Alcohol, tobacco, and areca nut/betel quid, which are the social and commercial determinants of oral cancer, are common risk factors, and there are robust data linking these risk factors to oral cancer in PNG. Our recent Global Challenges Research Fund Workshop on Oral Cancer, held in Port Moresby, PNG, brought together a number of researchers in oral cancer epidemiology and translational science with clinicians from PNG to assess the current situation and plan ways to move forward. In this article, we will review the literature on oral cancer in PNG, and make suggestions as to how, collaboratively, we can address the issues identified, ultimately, for the benefit of the people of PNG.