On Thursday, February 17, Emmanuel Barranger, director of the Antoine Lacassagne Center, presented the center’s new equipment, in the presence notably of Eric Ciotti and Auguste Vérola, vice-president of the Alpes-Maritimes department. He also took the opportunity to sound the alarm about France’s delay in the fight against cancer.
“Cancer is a global scourge; in France, 430 people die from cancer every day. Even though we have made significant progress, there is an increase,” Emmanuel Barranger began by reminding the audience before presenting the 3D laparoscopy column.
This technology provides the surgeon with greater comfort during a surgical intervention, with 3D access notably reducing the operation time. Since July 2015, the Antoine Lacassagne Center has been able to operate on a number of patients using this system, primarily treating women’s cancers.
The director also presented their surgical robot, which was “really missing from the Antoine Lacassagne Center.” It is exclusively intended for oncology, primarily for ENT and gynecological surgeries, an equipment which may not necessarily be profitable but is fundamental as it provides real surgical comfort and comfort for the patient, confides Dr. Emmanuel Barranger. Moreover, this acquisition was made possible thanks to the support of the Alpes-Maritimes department.
### France’s Delay in Cancer Combat
After presenting the new equipment of the Antoine Lacassagne Center, its director took the opportunity to sound the alarm about France’s delay in combating cancer.
This delay primarily concerns prevention. For example, the director of the center talks about the healthy life expectancy in France (meaning, the number of years a person can expect to live without suffering from disability in daily life tasks) being 64 years, whereas in Nordic countries it is 74 years. What do these countries do better? Prevention, screening which also includes prevention in schools.
The lack of vaccination was also criticized, for instance, the vaccination rate against cervical cancer only reaches 28% in France, while in Australia, it is 80% and the disease has been nearly eradicated in the country.
