Prevention in government cancer programme’s focus over next three years

The government will continue to implement measures against cancer with a focus on prevention over the next three years, the state secretary for health said on Saturday, ahead of World Cancer Day.

Lung cancer is a leading cause of death in Hungary, the government has therefore introduced several measures since 2010 to combat the disease, Ildikó Horváth told a conference of the Hungarian Respiratory Society in Budapest.

The measures include enacting stricter regulations on smoking, installing new generation medical equipment and setting up oncology centres, among others, she said.

The focus of government measures will be screening and prevention over the next three years, Horváth added.

Addressing the conference, Gábor Kovács, board member of the respiratory society, noted that lung cancer accounts for the highest proportion of patients diagnosed with malignant tumor in Hungary with 10,000 new cases registered each year.

Smoking is the most common risk factor in this group, he said, noting that 80 percent of patients diagnosed with lung cancer smoke.

Source: MTI