Lung cancer takes first place on the list of most common cancers in Taiwan in a newly released report. The Health Ministry’s Health Promotion Administration finally announced the results of the 2021 cancer statistics on Friday.
The new change has knocked colorectal cancer into the second most frequently diagnosed, which had occupied the top spot for the past 15 years. Breast cancer is in third place, followed by liver, oral, prostate, thyroid, gastric, skin, and pancreatic.
Though the number of newly diagnosed cancers was 121,762, a decrease of 217 from 2020, Health Promotion Administration Cancer Prevention and Control Division Chief Lin Li-ju (林莉茹) pointed out that the number of new cases of lung cancer has increased every year for the past five years. She said that earlier diagnoses have increased from 13.7% to 35.4% in the past decade, which may be related to the increasing public health awareness.
The Health Promotion Administration has been providing free lung cancer screening for those who have smoked or have a family history of lung cancer since July of last year. As for whether it will expand the eligibility for screening in the future, Lin said that the organization will also look at further statistics for further discussion and evaluation.