Vietnam reports over 182,000 new cancer patients in 2020

Vietnam reports over 182,000 new cancer patients in 2020

By Minh Duy

HCMC – The total number of cancer patients and cancer deaths in Vietnam has risen sharply, with an estimated 182,563 new cancer cases and 122,690 cancer fatalities being reported in 2020, the Ministry of Health said.

The ministry cited data from Globocan, a project of the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, as saying that the incidence and mortality rates of cancer in the country were 159 and 106 per 100,000 people, respectively.

Last year, among the 185 surveyed countries and territories, Vietnam ranked 91st by the incidence rate and 50th by the mortality rate. In 2018, the rankings were 99 and 56, respectively, which indicated that the cancer incidence and mortality rates in Vietnam were surging.

Many countries and regions in the world are reporting cancer cases, including developed countries such as the UK, France, Japan, South Korea and the United States, but the mortality rates in these nations are declining.

In Vietnam, the most common cancers are liver, lung, breast, stomach and colorectum. Among the local men, the five most commonly diagnosed cancers are liver, lung, stomach, colorectum, and prostate, accounting for some 65.8% of the total cancer types. Among the local women, these are breast, lung, colorectum, stomach and liver, equivalent to around 59.4% of the total cancers.

The national health authority attributed the rising number of cancer incidence and mortality cases to various factors, including the ageing population. The average life expectancy among Vietnamese people is on the rise, at 73.6. As a person grows older, their time of exposure to risk factors for cancers will be longer, leaving them at a high risk of cancer.

The other causes of cancer are alcohol and tobacco usage, an improper diet, a lack of physical activity and environmental pollution.

Further, the country detected more cancer cases than before as the number of people actively opting for cancer screening programs has increased and the health system recording cancer cases has improved.