‘Cancer cases to rise by 2030’

PETALING JAYA: The number of people in Malaysia newly diagnosed with cancer is expected to rise to over 66,000 annually by 2030, says Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

“This is an increase from the 49,000 people estimated to be newly diagnosed with cancer in 2020,” he said.

The ministry, he said, recognised cancer as an important health concern among Malaysians and was committed to reducing the incidence of cases while improving treatment and prevention strategies.

“Since there are more than 200 types of cancer, each warrants more research to find a cure, to ensure each patient can benefit tremendously from personalised and practical health solutions,” he said.

Khairy said this in his speech at the Precision Medicine Collaboration launch and signing ceremony between AstraZeneca, Prudential Malaysia and Pantai Premier Pathology here yesterday.

Also present was British High Commissioner to Malaysia Charles Hay.

Precision medicine is a medical model that encourages the use of medicine according to a particular individual, taking into account individual variability in genes, environment and lifestyle.

Cancer control in Malaysia, said Khairy, required urgent response and all parties involved needed to play their part in reducing the severity of this problem.

“This can be enhanced with early detection, preventive care, and most importantly, proper care and treatment,” he said.

Findings from the National Cancer Registry Report 2012-2016 showed that people with lung and liver cancers had a five-year relative survival rate of only 11% and 12.8%, with most only diagnosed in Stages Three and Four, said Khairy.

“The percentages of cases detected in Stages Three and Four rose from 58.7% to 63.7% between 2012 and 2016.

“Late diagnosis results in the disease becoming more advanced and less treatable under the available treatment options. This means fewer people will survive cancer,” he said.

On the collaboration, Khairy said the initiative supported the government’s vision of making healthcare more inclusive and accessible to all.

“The Health White Paper we are curating is important because we need to start looking at health as an investment, and not just as an expenditure,” he said.