Why does cancer increase rapidly in Vietnam?

The growth rate of cancer patients in Vietnam is among the fastest in the world with after 15 years new cases increase more than 2 times.

In 1990, the country was estimated to have about 70,000 cases of cancer, by 2015 there were 150,000 new patients. Thus, after 15 years, the number of newly discovered cases increased more than 2 times. It is estimated that by 2020, this number will be about 200,000 cases.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Director of K Hospital said that cancer tends to increase not only in Vietnam but also most countries in the world. There are many reasons for this.

1. First , the average life expectancy of Vietnamese people increased in both sexes thanks to many medical achievements in health care (average age of 73 years).The higher the age, the longer the exposure to risk factors is, the higher the incidence of cancer.
2. Secondly , the propaganda for cancer is better than before, people are more concerned about disease, more screening should be discovered earlier.
3. Third , better and modern cancer diagnosis facilities, combined with the physician's experience, help detect cancer more.
4. Fourth , due to the increase in the risk of cancer has been demonstrated through many studies.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Van Thuan, Director of K. Hospital (Photo: NP).

According to Professor Thuan, cancer risks can be divided into the following groups:

Group of external causes

1. Chemical agents such as cigarettes : Tobacco contains more than 4,000 different substances with about 100 substances proven to cause cancer.It causes more than 30% of cancers such as lung, larynx, esophagus . Even breast and cervix in women are also involved.
2. Unsafe, unreasonable nutrition : The diet has less fruit, less vegetables, too much protein, especially animal fat, which increases the risk of colorectal cancer and many other cancers.Unsafe food is food with many potentially carcinogenic substances such as pickled salt containing nitrate, nitrite causing cancer of the esophagus and stomach;Many moldy rice aflatoxin causes liver cancer .
3. Group of physical agents : X-rays, radiation causing some cancers such as lymph nodes, thyroid, blood .
4. Biological group : Some viruses, bacteria that can cause cancer such as HPV papillomavirus HPV leads to cervical cancer;Hepatitis B virus causes hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer;HP helminth causes stomach cancer .

Group of internal causes

These are endocrine disorders, accounting for about 10% of all cancers. For example, women with mothers and sisters have breast cancer, the risk of breast cancer is 4-6 times higher than those without a medical history. Use of long-term replacement contraceptives for 10 years or more, the risk of breast cancer is 2-4 times higher than those who do not use or use less.

Associate Professor Thuan emphasized that one type of cancer can be caused by many factors, one factor can cause many types of cancer, the longer the time of exposure to the pathogen, the higher the risk of cancer .

To prevent disease, you need to quit smoking, maintain a safe and reasonable diet; Periodic health examination; regular exercise; vaccination against some infections, viruses, bacteria.