'Palliative care developments in the region represented by the Middle East Cancer Consortium' provides the first comprehensive review and comparative analysis of palliative care in the MECC members Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Palestinian Authority and Turkey. This monograph describes palliative care services both across the region and within individual MECC members in terms of the numbers of patients, coverage, estimated workforce, patient capacity, services per million population, and type and range of services, Specific palliative care service data were collected throughout the year 2005. The review includes comparative population data and epidemiology. It describes the different healthcare systems, the funding of general and palliative care services, the availability of opioids, opioid-related legislation, as well as relevant education and training programs. It outlines the common barriers to palliative care service development in the MECC region and lists future plans and goals as identified by key health professionals. All figures relating to socio-demographic and epidemiological data are accurate as of January 2007.