Cancer incidence zooms doubling 1980s figures

Male and female cancers have surged in the past four decades with health officials saying that the rates were similar to Western countries.

According to statistics from the National Cancer Control Program (NCCP), cancer prevalence in the country soared from 31.6 in 1995 to 70.9 in 2006 per 100,000 of the population. It also accounted for 27% of all newly diagnosed cancers among females in 2006.

Consultant Community Physician and Co-ordinator of the NCCP island-wide program, Dr. Suraj Perera said 80 percent of the cancers had four risk factors identified by the World Health Organisation - unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco consumption.

In Sri Lanka, the causes can be traced to bad eating habits such as consuming too much animal fat and too few vegetables which has resulted in obesity, leading to early development of non-communicable diseases (NCD), sedentary life styles and alcohol and tobacco consumption. This month (October), has been declared as Breast Cancer Month by the UN. "Cancer is responsible for 9% of all NCD deaths in Sri Lanka," Director General, Health Services, Dr. P.G. Mahipala said. According to the WHO, Sri Lanka ranks as the highest in NCDs in South East Asia.

According to Epidemiology reports, in 2012, it was found that proportional mortality percentage of total deaths in all ages and both sexes with regard to cancer was 10% and from other NCDs 10%.

"The commonest neoplasm among Sri Lankan adults is breast cancer as evident by its age-standardised rate of 10.8 cases per 100,000 reported in 2006. Neoplasms were also the second most common cause of deaths of all hospital admissions in 2007," Director, National Cancer Control Program, Dr Neelamani Paranagama told the media at the launch of national guidelines on breast cancer management for primary care doctors and family physicians at the Health Education Bureau on Wednesday.

- CA