17% of deaths in Maldives caused by cancer

Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths in the Maldives, making for 17 percent of total deaths each year.

In a statement on occasion of World Cancer Day on Sunday, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) said that cancer is one of the three leading causes of deaths in the Maldives.

According to a report compiled by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020, cancer is the cause of 17 percent of annual deaths in the Maldives.

Cancer is also the second leading cause of deaths globally. An average of 10 million people die from cancer each year. 40 percent of them got cancer due to unhealthy lifestyles.

HPA said that as part of national efforts to control cancer, it is working on compiling and digitalizing a national cancer registry.

Work is underway to input information on registered cancer patients at hospitals starting from 2019.

“The most common types of cancer in the Maldives includes breast cancer, lung cancer, blood cancer, thyroid cancer and prostate cancer,” said HPA.

Cancer is a disease in which some of the body’s cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. Early diagnosis and intervention is key to prevent the disease from advancing.