The number of people suffering from cancer was increasing across Viet Nam, warned participants at a national conference on cancer prevention on Thursday.

According to statistics presented at the conference, between 100,000 and 200,000 new cancer cases are reported in Viet Nam each year, while between 15,000-20,000 people die from cancer annually.

The rate of male patients with cancer increased to 181.2 per 100,000 people in 2010 from 141.6 per 100,000 people in 2000. The figure for female patients is 134.9 per 100,000 against 101.6 per 100,000.

Smoking, environmental pollution and the use of pesticides were the main causes of the disease, said Vice Chairman of the Association for Cancer Prevention and Control Nguyen Ba Duc.

The most common cancers were lung, stomach, liver, breast, rectum and cervical cancer, said Duc.

He added communication and education activities had not been b enough to raise people's awareness on cancer prevention in Viet Nam, a factor that had contributed to the rising rate of cancer in the country.

A recent survey carried out in 12 provinces and cities showed that only 35 per cent of the more than 12,000 surveyed people knew the correct answers to cancer-related questions.

Most people held the erroneous view that cancer was an untreatable disease.

Director of the Viet Nam National Cancer Hospital Bui Dieu said about one-third of the patients could be potentially treated if their cancer was discovered at an early stage, but most Vietnamese patients did not have frequent health check ups.

Chairman of the HCM City Cancer Prevention Association Nguyen Chan Hung said modern medical technologies could prolong the lives of people with cancer.

World Health Organis-ation Representative Dr Jean-Marc Olive said that in the coming time, cancer prevention and control programmes should be integrated into the national diseases prevention programme.

Human resources and medical facilities to treat cancer should be strengthened and upgraded along with services to meet the demands of patients, he said.

Health experts recommend people have regular health check-ups and reduce high-risk behaviour such as smoking and eating fastfood. — VNS