Mortality rate among liver cancer patients on decline, says DOH
12/30/2003 Taiwan Central News Agency Mortality rates among sufferers of liver cancer, one of the leading causes of death for Taiwan people, seem to be on the decline, the nation's top health official said yesterday. Chen Chien-jen minister of the Department of Health (DOH), made the remarks after the DOH unveiled earlier that day its annual cancer registry report for 2000, the most recent statistics available. Chen said that in 2000, the liver cancer rate was 36.06 people in every 100,000, an increase rate of 20 percent between 1996 and 2000. As hepatitis is an important factor in the development of liver cancer, Chen said that the DOH would step up medication for chronic hepatitis B and C patients next year, in an attempt to effectively curb the spread of liver cancer. Chen also noted that although both the number of lung cancer patients and mortality rates in the United States have dropped because of pressure from anti-tobacco groups, cigarette production in the United States has not decreased accordingly. Instead, U.S. tobacco companies have simply increased their cigarette exports, Chen said, which is having an adverse effect on lung cancer control efforts in other countries. In Taiwan, excessive drinking, betel-nut chewing and smoking are all associated with oral cancer and cancer of the esophagus, and Chen said that the most effective way to prevent such cancers is to avoid alcohol, betel nuts and cigarettes. In addition, he went on, the ratio of Taiwan women suffering from lung cancer is high, [...]