KUALA LUMPUR: About 49,000 people in Malaysia were estimated to be newly-diagnosed with cancer in 2020, with this figure expected to rise to more than 66,000 new cases annually by 2030.
Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin said action must be taken to tackle the growing burden of cancer in the country.
"The disease becomes more advanced and less treatable under currently available treatment options.
"With late diagnosis, there will be fewer treatment options available for the patient and that means fewer people will survive cancer," he said in his keynote speech at the Improving Access to Cancer Treatment and Care virtual conference.
The two-day virtual conference that began today was organised by the Galen Centre for Health and Social Policy, the Cancer Care Working Group and the M3C Taskforce to reflect and discuss on the progress, gaps, and opportunities in supporting cancer treatment and care in Malaysia.
Khairy said, according to the Health Ministry's Malaysia National Cancer Registry Report 2012–2016 released last year, people with lung and liver cancers had a five-year relative survival rate of only 11 and 12.8 per cent, respectively.
"Most were diagnosed in either Stages 3 or 4. More people were found to have been diagnosed late with cancer. The percentage of cases detected in Stage 3 and 4 rose from 58.7 per cent to 63.7 per cent in the period of 2012 to 2016.
"Unfortunately, delayed diagnosis of cancer can lead to devastating consequences," he said.
Khairy said even though Covid-19 has caused massive disruptions and harm to Malaysia's healthcare system, it has also provided the nation with an opportunity to examine and consider existing gaps, weaknesses, and strengths of the healthcare infrastructure.
The ministry, he said, has taken steps to encourage early detection using a self-testing kit for human papilloma virus (HPV) and introduced immunochemical faecal occult blood test as part of colorectal cancer screening, targeting those between 50 and 75 years.
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cancer among Malaysians, where 65 per cent of cases are diagnosed late.
"It has been 22 months since Covid-19 was first detected in Malaysia. Today, with the success of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, the removal of movement restrictions and the reopening of places of commerce, offices and shops, the economic situation has improved, allowing business and livelihoods to recover, rebuild and heal.
"However, the burden of the Covid-19 public health emergency on health systems has been unprecedented and has had serious ramifications for cancer care."
Khairy said data has shown that cancer patients are more vulnerable to Covid-19 complications with increased mortality among those infected with Covid-19.
He said health budgets should be looked at as investments rather than expenditures as people who are healthier and able to survive cancer can carry on working to help rebuild their lives, the economy, and the country.
"Effective investments and interventions in cancer prevention, timely diagnosis, advances in therapies and care delivery models which have reduced the number of cancer deaths, improved survivorship, and quality of life for those living with the disease, need serious consideration."
Khairy noted that there were cases where patients were still resorting to traditional or supposed alternative treatments, which has resulted in significant treatment delays and in some cases, allowed disease progression to a later stage, where there are fewer options.
For decades, the most effective medicines have been almost fully subsidised by the government to ensure the best possible health outcomes, he said.
"Novel treatments are still accessible to patients through innovative financing models, patient access schemes, and industry sponsored clinical trials.
"The challenge for us, at the ministry, is not to find the 'No' to any of these questions or treatments but to ensure that whatever decision that is made is in the best interest of patients and the provision of quality care, and that no one is left behind.
"We need to bring together health and non-health sectors to develop innovative, localised solutions for cancer care to tackle the growing burden of cancer.
"Ultimately, the best health outcome we can hope for are improvements in survivorship, where patients are able to be treated, get back on their feet, get back to being productive members of society, and be with their loved ones."
Following his speech, Khairy launched the white paper "Cancer Care Challenges, Gaps and Opportunities in Malaysia".
The paper, he said, examines some of the issues highlighted and outlines several policy recommendations needed to reduce cancer's devastating impact on Malaysians.
These include getting more people to be screened and detected at an earlier stage of their cancer, providing timely and effective treatment when it is needed to avoid the burden of under-treated cancer, and optimising financing and governance of cancer care to steer towards better survival and reduced burden.
"I look forward to reading the document in detail. Congratulations to the Cancer Care Working Group and the M3C Taskforce on its publication.
"Neither the ministry, nor the government can respond adequately to the threat of cancer on its own. Ownership of the cancer issue must go beyond health but also into other sectors such as labour, finance, urban planning and education.
"We need the combined involvement and energies of non-government organisations, academia, private sector healthcare stakeholders, caregivers and patients."