Twenty doctors from across the central region are attending a training course on the early detection of gastric cancer between 10 and 15 August at the Da Nang General Hospital. 

Taught by professors from the OITA University in Japan, the course has been jointly organised by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, the Japan Gastroenterological Endoscopy Society, the Overseas Human Resources and Industry Development Association in Japan, and the Vietnamese Federation for Digestive Endoscopy.

Cancer patients being treated at the hospital

According to reports delivered at the event, Viet Nam now has one of the world’s highest rates of stomach cancer.  This life-threatening disease is the second most common cancer in the country, and metastasis occurs in 80 - 90% of patients with advanced stomach cancer, but there is a 5-year survival rate of 57 - 75% for those diagnosed in the early stages.

Viet Nam is now facing a severe shortage of large endoscopy centres for the early detection and treatment of cancer, as well as needing modern medical equipment, highly-qualified doctors and systematic screening programmes.  As a result, there is a high incidence of cancer patients being admitted to hospitals in the terminal stage of the disease.