Africa is the epicenter of new cancer cases and, in Portuguese-speaking countries alone, they will double by 2040, partly due to late diagnosis and difficulties in accessing treatment, said oncologist Lúcio Santos.
The doctor spoke about the situation of the oncological disease in the Portuguese-speaking African Countries (PALOP) at the 6th National Congress of Tropical Medicine, which takes place this Thursday and Friday, at the Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, in Lisbon.
According to the oncologist, new cases of cancer in PALOP countries should, if nothing is done to prevent it, go from around 47,900 new cases in 2020 to 96,700 in 2040.
“The epicenter of new cancer cases is Africa,” he stressed, noting that the situation is not the same in all countries – with more cases in Cape Verde than in MozambiqueFor example.
But the reality could be different, as credible data showing the real dimension of the disease in these countries is lacking, he said.
Lúcio Santos pointed out some reasons for this growth of cancer in PALOP countries, namely late diagnosis of the disease and difficulties in accessing medicines and treatments.
In this sense, he indicated that in these Portuguese-speaking countries there are only five radiotherapy machines: four in Angola and one in Mozambique.
At this conference, Albano Ferreira, from the University of Katyavala Bwila (Angola), spoke about cardiovascular diseases in PALOPs, where they are the main cause of death in Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Sao Tome and Principe.
the risk factor The main cause of death is high blood pressurefollowed by diabetes.
Source: Observadora
