The prevention of cancer in women was top of the agenda at a national tumour seminar that took place in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho on October 25.

At the biennial function, more than 300 experts from cancer hospitals and institutes across Vietnam shared their experience in cancer prevention, diagnosis and treatment, and worked on the implementation of national programmes on cancer prevention and control.

The 7th seminar heard updates from leading experts on breast, oesophagus, lungs and thorax cancer among others.

Latest advances in cancer prevention and treatment to early diagnose the disease, thus improving therapy quality, were also introduced at the event.

The World Health Organisation forecasts 300 million new patients and 200 million deaths from cancer in the next 25 years, most of them in developing countries.

In Vietnam, an additional 150,000 people suffer from cancer and 75,000 others die of the disease every year.

Cancer prevention and control in the country is reportedly encountering a number of difficulties due to poor facilities, a shortage of cancer specialists and communication staff, and the worsening overload at specialist hospitals.-VNA