LAHORE: Pakistan ranks seventh in the world in terms of the number of deaths from breast cancer while it has the highest prevalence of breast cancer among Asian countries, with an estimated 90,000 new cases emerging annually. Around 40,000 Pakistani women die every year because of breast cancer, requiring medical experts to call for an urgent action including awareness and early diagnosis to control the alarming mortality rate.

Medical experts said this while addressing at a seminar on breast cancer awareness here at the University of Health Sciences (UHS), on Wednesday.

The vice-chancellor UHS, Prof Javed Akram said that all cancers, including breast cancer, are on the rise in the country. “Such is the magnitude of the problem that even if all the budget of Pakistan is spent on controlling only breast cancer, it will still fall short”, he remarked.

He revealed that a study group is being formed at the national level on breast cancer. The research group will include scientists and researchers from all medical universities in the country. Prof. Fridoon, Prof. Nadeem Afzal, Dr Shah Jahan and others from UHS would be part of the study group.

The group would identify various risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of developing breast cancer, including age, reproductive health history, hereditary and lifestyle.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020