Although cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, prevention measures only reach 25 percent of potential cases.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Xuyen announced the figure at a seminar held in Hanoi on April 11.
Xuyen said in recent times, dozens of new tumour hospitals and centres have been put into operation and the latest technologies applied in big cities, but they failed to meet the actual need.
To address the issue, the Ministry of Health will accelerate the dissemination of information about cancer prevention, early detect and use new technologies in treatment to reduce the number of cancer fatalities.
More than 50 scientific reports on breast, cervical, digestive tract, hematology and lung cancer research, as well as the latest technologies on cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment were presented at the seminar, providing a good opportunity for scientists to improve their professional skills.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimated that in 2008, more than 4 million people in the Asia Pacific region suffered from cancer and 2.6 million people died from the disease. The mortality rate is forecast to hover around 11 million by 2030.
More than 70 percent of fatalities are in low and middle income countries which have limited access to early diagnosis and prevention. However, 40 percent of cancer cases can be prevented and many can be successfully treated if they are detected early.
Cancer prevention meets 25 percent of demand
Although cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide, prevention measures only reach 25 percent of potential cases.
Source: VOV
