STAFF CORRESPONDENT

Cancer is responsible for 11.9 percent of all deaths in Bangladesh annually, according to a new study by the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.

Also, 52.9 new cases are reported per 100,000 people every year, said the population-based cancer registry by BSMMU’s Department of Public Health and Informatics (DPHI).

Among the 38 different cancers prevalent in the country, lung cancer (11.4 percent) causes the most deaths, followed by laryngreal cancer (8.5 percent), and stomach cancer (5.7 percent), the study also revealed.

The cancer prevalence in the country at present is 106 cases per 100,000 population -- with 118 per 100,000 among males and 96 per 100,000 among females, according to the study.

The findings were shared at a programme titled “Cancer Burden in Bangladesh: Evidence from a Population-based Cancer Registry”, organised by BSMMU at its Super Specialised Hospital in Dhaka yesterday.

Laryngeal cancer was found to be the most prevalent (13 percent) among males, followed by stomach cancer (10.4 percent), lungs (8.7 percent), lip and oral cavity (7 percent) and esophagus cancer (6.1 percent), said Md Khalequzzaman, associate professor of DPHI at BSMMU and principal investigator of the study, while presenting the findings.

In females, breast cancer (36.4 percent) was the most common cancer, followed by cervical cancer (11.1 percent), lip and oral cavity (10.1 percent), thyroid (7.1 percent) and ovaries (5.1 percent), he added.

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