(VOVworld) - February 4 is observed as World Cancer Day. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), early cancer diagnosis saves lives and cuts treatment costs, particularly in developing countries where the majority of cancer cases are diagnosed too late.

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Cancer kills nearly 9 million people every year, mostly in low and middle income countries. Worldwide, deaths from cancer exceed those caused by HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. One problem is that many cancer cases are diagnosed too late. The WHO predicts that two thirds of global deaths from cancer will occur in developing nations by 2030. Not only a common cause of death, cancer costs countries billions of USD in medical expenditures and productivity losses annually. Studies in high-income countries have shown that treatment for cancer patients who have been diagnosed early are 2 to 4 times less expensive than treating people diagnosed with cancer at more advanced stages. According to a new guidance launched by the WHO ahead of World Cancer Day 2017, steps to early cancer diagnosis include improving public awareness of different cancer symptoms, and investing in strengthening and equipping health services and training health workers. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says there is an estimated shortage of 5,000 radiotherapy machines throughout the world. Among African countries, for example, 80 per cent of the estimated population of one billion is without access to radiotherapy and related cancer services.

At an event in Vienna, Austria, related to World Cancer Day, IAEA Director General, Yukiya Amano said that the UN agency is working to make radiotherapy and nuclear medicine more widely available. He added that to meet the cancer needs of developing countries, there should be around 10,000 additional radiation oncologists, 6,000 medical physicists, 3,000 dosimetrists and 20,000 radiation therapists. Etienne Krug, Director of the WHO's Department for the Management of Noncommunicable Diseases, Disability, Violence and Injury Prevention, said that diagnosing cancer in late stages, and the inability to provide treatment, condemn many people to unnecessary suffering and early death. He stressed that by taking the steps to implement the new WHO guidance, healthcare planners can improve early diagnosis of cancer and ensure prompt treatment, especially for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers.

Countries have agreed to reduce early deaths from cancer and other chronic disease by one-third by 2030 as stipulated in the Sustainable Development Goals.