Cancer epidemiology in mainland South-East Asia - past, present and future

Abstract

The countries of mainland South-East Asia, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Viet Nam, share a long history of interactions and many cultural similarities, as well as geographical contiguity. They therefore can be usefully examined as a group when considering measures for control of cancer and other non-communicable diseases. Liver cancer is consistently found at higher incidence than most other parts of Asia, with lung cancer as the other most important neoplasm in males. In females cervical and breast cancer about equally predominate, throughout. However, there are also major differences, particularly with regard to stomach and nasopharyngeal cancer, only found at relatively high incidence in Viet Nam. The present review was conducted to gather together registry data on cancer prevalence and epidemiological findings cited in PubMed in order to obtain as comprehensive picture as possible of the present status. It is hoped that future cooperation across the region will facilitate development of coordinated cancer control programs to reduce the burden.