THỪA THIÊN-HUẾ — The world’s latest achievements in treating cancer were discussed among hundreds of experts at an annual conference on cancer prevention and treatment in central Huế City yesterday.   

Organised by the Huế Central Hospital, the Huế College of Medicine and Pharmacy and the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the event gathered 600 local and 20 international cancer specialists, Việt Nam Television (VTV) reported.

About 100 scientific studies were presented at the conference, focusing on screening and early detection of cancer and advancements in diagnosis and treatment.

Digestive tract, lung, breast, and pediatric cancer, as well as the newest cancer treatment methods such as immunotherapy and stem cell therapy, were discussed by doctors and specialists.

Speaking at the conference, Phạm Xuân Dũng, director of the Oncology Hospital of HCM City, said that studies have found cells in humans that can destroy cancerous cells.

“Cancerous cells emit certain substances that help them avoid the immune system,” he told VTV. “Immunotherapy is the method that boosts the immune system so that it will able to detect and destroy these cancerous cells.”

Professor Abe Fingerhurt, president of the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery, stressed the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of Indocyanine green – a cyanine dye used in medical diagnostics – in cancer treatment.

“It has been shown to be highly effective in the treatment of not only breast, rectal and bile duct cancer but also other illnesses such as intestinal twist,” he said. “It is also cheaper than the existing methods, easily applied, and has resulted in no medical complications.”

Apart from the new methods, the basic methods of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, gynecology, and palliative care remained the pivotal parts of cancer treatment, said Phạm Như Hiệp, director of the Huế Central Hospital.

“Early cancer screening and prevention control whether a patient’s treatment will be radical or temporary,” he said.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death globally, accounting for 12 per cent of all deaths annually.

Việt Nam has about 126,000 new cancer patients and 94,000 cancer deaths each year, according to national statistics. The number of new cancer patients is expected to rise to 186,000 per year by 2020.

Economic loss of about VNĐ25.8 billion (US$1.14 million) were caused per year by breast, liver, cervical, colorectal and stomach cancer, according to the latest national statistics in 2012.

— VNS