Health officials expressed alarm Tuesday over what they called an “alarming” increase in cancer deaths in Thailand, with rates nearly doubling for working-age Thais and the elderly since 2011.
The Public Health Ministry's Policy and Strategy Bureau released figures showing that cancer deaths in 2014 increased 14.7% over 2011 levels, at 70,075, or an average 10 people per sub-district.
"Based on the recent assessment of public health nationwide, the number of people who died from all cancers has been rising at an alarming rate," said Dr Boonrayng Trairuangworawat, director-general of the Department of Health Service Support.
Standardised deaths-per-100,000-people rates were not disclosed, making comparison with historical death rates impossible.
Looking at raw numbers, Bangkok recorded the largest number of cancer deaths at 9,474, followed by Nakhon Ratchasima (2,615) Chiang Mai (2,052), Khon Kaen (2,028) and Roi Et (1,991).
Most cancers affected the liver, bile ducts, lungs, bronchus, breasts and cervix. The main factors attributed to cancer occurances were associated with smoking, drinking alcohol and eating contaminated or high-fat foods, Dr Boonruang said.
Cancer has been the leading cause of death in Thailand since 2000. More than 67,000 cancer deaths were reported in a 2013 survey which contributed to 16% of all causes of deaths.