King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre in Riyadh Inaugurates a Gulf Conference on Cancer

General

29

March

His Excellency Dr. Majid Alfayyadh, Chief Executive Officer of King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, stressed that medical and health institutions in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are concerned about the increasing number of patients with cancer in the GCC over the last two decades. “More than half of these patients are diagnosed in the advanced stages casting a shadow on the options available for therapeutic interventions and the anticipated outcome of these options,” he added.

In a recorded speech at the opening session of the second Gulf conference on cancer that is being held at King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre (KFSH&RC) in Riyadh for 3 days, Dr. Alfayyadh said that patients with cancer in the GCC countries are expected to double over the next 10 years due to changing lifestyle and increased risks of smoking, obesity, inactivity, and other environmental factors and genetic mutations. He called for quickly adopting effective plans in the Gulf health institutions responding to these indicators and translating challenges into investment in the programs of preventive health, early detection, and comprehensive health care stages (primary, secondary, and advanced).

The second Gulf conference on cancer started on Tuesday, March 27, under the patronage of His Excellency Dr. Tawfiq Bin Fawzan Al Rabiah, Minister of Health. The conference featured 12 international experts representing a number of international health institutions and organizations working in the field of cancer treatment in addition to 7 experts from Gulf and more than 30 experts from various health sectors in Saudi Arabia. The conference aims to boost cooperation among several Gulf health institutions concerned with care programs for patients with cancer and build national capabilities.

Dr. Alfayyadh stated that scientific evidence and research indicate that 40% of cancers can be cured if detected at early stages. He further noted that more than 90% of some types of cancer, such as breast and colon cancer – the most common types of cancer in the GCC countries, can be treated if detected early.

He pointed out that the economic burden of diagnosis and treatment of patients with cancer coupled with the continuous increase in the number of patients leaves a huge impact on the budgets of health institutions, as the "studies show that 2% of the global national income is spent on the treatment of patients with cancer alone and that nearly a third of cancer deaths could be avoided." He further noted that the economic burden caused by just one factor, that is, consumption of tobacco was equivalent to the total expenditure on health in a number of developing countries.