BRAZZAVILLE, 4 December 2008 (IRIN) - At least 70 percent of patients diagnosed with cancer in the Republic of Congo die within 12 months of screening because treatment facilities are expensive and inadequate, health specialists said.

The patients die, according to Judith Nsondé Malanda, an oncologist with the Brazzaville University Hospital (CHU), because most seek treatment at a late stage when the disease is difficult to treat.

At least 500 new cases of cancer are diagnosed each year in the Congo. "We opened the cancer registry in 1996. Since then we record on average some 500 new cases each year," she said, adding that eating habits contributed to these levels.

High treatment costs are also to blame. "Many patients die because the cost of treatment is very high," Ignace Ngakala, CHU director-general, told IRIN, adding that the hospital was still not in a position to offer free services.

Despite the country being the fourth-largest oil producer south of the Sahara, 70 percent of the Congolese population live in poverty, on less than US$1 a day.

The most prevalent types of cancer in the Congo include cervical, prostate and breast cancer. Liver cancer is also common among children, said Ngakala.

At present, residents receive free cancer screening services at the CHU in an event organised by the French NGO, Comité international pour la renaissance de l'Afrique, and the government. Specialist doctors from Francophone countries and Europe are taking part.

Only the CHU offers cancer screening and treatment services for a national population of about 3.6 million.

According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer (Centre international de recherche sur le cancer), 53 percent of all cancer cases are found in developing countries. This figure could reach 70 percent by 2030.

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