Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Cancer is the second leading cause of death in Vietnam, accountingfor 17.9 percent and 19.9 percent of total deaths caused by diseases in thecountry in 2010 and 2017, respectively.

Onlycardiovascular diseases kill more inthe country annually.

Thestatistics were revealed in the report 'Cancer preparedness inAsia-Pacific: Progress towards universal cancer control' by the EconomistIntelligence Unit (EIU) released early this month.

Thereport looks at different responses to cancer in Asia-Pacific and the essentialelements needed to enhance preparedness in the region.

The10 countries included in this study were chosen based on various factorsincluding size, income-level diversity and progress made towards universalhealth coverage (UHC). They are Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, the Republic of Korea (RoK) and Vietnam.

Accordingto the report, Vietnam ranks second from bottom in cancer preparedness amongthe countries with an overall score of 44.5 out of 100, just above thePhilippines whose score is 42.6.

Theregional average score is 66.5 while Australia, the RoK and Malaysia lead theregion with scores of 92.4, 83.4 and 80.3 respectively.

Thereport also pointed out that in middle-income countries, the cancer mortalityrate ranges from 60 to 70 percent. Meanwhile, the percentage in high-incomecountries is from 30 to 50 percent.

Accordingto the report, nearly 70 percent of cancer patients in Vietnam die, a figurewhich raised public concern.

Directorof the National Cancer Hospital Associate Prof. Dr. Le Van Quang told Suc khoe & Doi song (Health &Life) newspaper that the EIU’s report took data from 2018 when Vietnam reported165,000 new cancer cases and 115,000 deaths caused by cancer. The number ofdeaths was not of new cancer cases but accumulated numbers from previous years.

“Cancermortality rate reported within one year cannot be as exact as those collectedin a period, for example, three or five years,” he said.

“Toevaluate any country's ability in cancer treatment, it should be based on thetime patients survive after they receive diagnosis and treatment,” he said.

“Itis not true that 70 percent of cancer patients in Vietnam died within a year ofbeing diagnosed,” he said.

TheEIU’s report said the mortality rate of cancer patients within a year inSoutheast Asian countries including Vietnam is 29 percent.

InVietnam, the three most common cancers - lung cancer, liver cancer andstomach cancer – usually develop fast with malignant tumours and are difficultto treat.

Meanwhile,in Australia, the three most common cancers are breast, prostate and colorectumwhich usually develop slowly and can be treated well in Vietnam.

Inthe RoK, the three most common cancers are thyroid cancer, stomach cancer andcolorectum cancer, Quang said, adding that Vietnam now can treat thyroid cancerwell.

Heemphasised that the types of cancer and causes of cancer affectthe mortality rate differently in different countries.

Currently,Vietnam has similar equipment and medicine for cancer treatment as inother countries.

However,it still needed to improve and implement four major tasks in its cancerprevention and control plans, Quang said.

Thefour tasks are preventive measures, early screening, treatment and pain relief.

InVietnam, the cancer prevention and control programme is part of the programmeon non-communicable diseases prevention and control but funding for cancer ismodest.

Inaddition, health insurance does not cover early cancer screening.

“Inthe near future, if health insurance covers part of the cost for cancerscreening, especially for high-risk groups, more people can access thescreening,” he said.

"Thesooner the disease is detected, patients have more chance to be cleared fromthe disease and medical costs are also reduced," he said.

Quangalso called on people to have regular health check-ups for timely detection andtreatment./.