Acting Minister of Health and Population Khaled Abdel-Ghaffar launched on Sunday an initiative for the early detection and treatment of Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) - liver cancer, the sixth most prevalent cancer in the globe.
The initiative comes as an extension of the national initiative to screen for the Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) that was launched in 2018 under the umbrella of the larger 100 Million Healthy Lives Presidential Initiative to protect citizens’ health and social security, Abdel-Ghaffar said.
Liver cancer is the sixth most prevalent cancer in the globe and the fourth most prevalent cause of death from cancer.
Egypt has the world's second highest incidence of HCC, which can be ascribed to the elevated prevalence and complications of the hepatitis C virus (HCV).
In July 2020, the health ministry announced that Egypt has become the first country to succeed in becoming free of HCV thanks to the national initiative to end the infectious disease that ended in April 2019.
The goal of such health initiatives is to ensure the presence of a comprehensive, effective, and stable system that helps detect liver cancer, curbing complications and reducing deaths that result from liver diseases, Abdel-Ghaffar affirmed.
Drugs for liver cancer are available at 22 centers affiliated with the National Committee for the Control of Viral Hepatitis (NCCVH) at ministry and university hospitals, he said.
Source: Al-Ahram Online
