Hanoi (VNA) – The Central Lung Hospital in Hanoi aims to utilise scientific and technological advances in lung cancer diagnosis and treatment, according to the hospital’s Director Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Nhung.
Nhung, also President of the Vietnam Association against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, said the hospital will develop a specialised network from the central to grassroots level for the early detection and treatment of lung cancer.
She said the number of new lung cancer cases accounts for an estimated 24.4 percent of cancer cases in Vietnam and lung cancer-related deaths make up 21.8 percent.
Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths globally, she said, noting that most of lung cancer cases are found at the late-stage. Therefore, early diagnosis can help lengthen and improve the quality of life of patents.
In Vietnam, there are a total of 45 tuberculosis and lung hospitals, Nhung said.
About 22,000 Vietnamese people are diagnosed with lung cancer every year, while 19,500 die of the disease annually.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of death among Vietnamese males, and the second-most common cause for cancer-related fatalities among females, doctors said. More than 34,000 people in Vietnam are forecast to contract the disease on an annual basis by 2020.
According to figures from Globocan 2012, every year, some 1.8 million new cases of lung cancer are reported globally every year, with 1.6 million lung cancer-related deaths.-VNA
VNA