By Abdellatif M Sharaa

KUWAIT: Consultant of internal medicine, gastroenterology and hepatology Dr Wafaa Al-Hashash said colon and rectal cancer cases have increased in Kuwait in recent years. "Around 3,842 cancer cases were registered in Kuwait in 2020, according to World Health Organization (WHO) figures," she said, adding 1,719 mortalities and 10,885 cancer cases were recorded in the past five years.

Dr Hashash said on a global scale, WHO statistics show 10 million deaths were attributed to cancer, with a prediction that around 28.4 million more cancer cases will be diagnosed by 2040. She said one out of five persons around the world is expected to get cancer during their lifetime, with one out of eight men and one out of 11 women dying of complications from the disease. "New estimates indicate that more than 50 million persons will survive five years after having a history of suffering from cancer," she added.

On the most prevalent types of cancer, Dr Hashash said that one out of four women have breast cancer, while colon, womb, lung and thyroid cancers are also common among women. "Breast cancer makes up 21 percent of cases in both genders, followed by colon and rectal cancer, with thyroid cases making up 7 percent," she explained. Among men in Kuwait, Dr Hashash said 14 percent of colon and rectal cancer cases were recorded, followed by 13 percent of prostate cancer cases and 7 percent lung cancer cases.