Cancer statistics

Of the more than 50,000 deaths from cancer recorded in Thailand in 2004, the Northeast accounted for more than any other region, a seminar was told yesterday.

The region accounted for 19,221 of the 50,818 fatal cancer cases, followed by the Central region with 10,690, the North with 10,174, Bangkok with 6,648 and the South with 4,085, caretaker Public Health Minister Pinij Charusombat said during the opening ceremony of the seminar.

The seminar, at a cancer centre in northeastern Udon Thani province, was held to mark the 54th birthday of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. Free screenings for cancer were provided at the venue.

Pinij said the Public Health Ministry needed to be more proactive in tackling cancer by encouraging the public to undergo examinations more regularly, as more than 80 per cent of the fatalities were because the patients sought help too late.

Liver cancer accounted for most of the deaths, followed by cancers of the lung, cervix, breast, colon and mouth. The most frequent causes of cancer were food contamination by alpha toxins generated by fungi, overdone cooking like grilling and deep frying, unsuitable food preservatives, use of banned food colouring and certain chronic viral diseases.