Egyptian Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar affirmed that Egypt is witnessing an unprecedented qualitative shift in the fight against cancer, as the latest international estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory (Globocan) of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), affiliated with the World Health Organization, recorded a tangible decrease in the burden of cancerous tumors nationwide.

In a press statement, Abdel Ghaffar said that the age-standardized mortality rate for cancer decreased by 23.5%, and the age-standardized incidence rate by 17.2% between the 2022 and 2024 estimates.

He added that liver cancer had the largest share in this tangible decline, with its mortality rate dropping by 22.1% and its incidence rate by 16.7%, reflecting the success of the President's '100 Million Health' initiative in eliminating hepatitis C, which was the main cause of this type of tumor in Egypt.

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He continued: 'Our success in confronting hepatitis C has shifted the scales of the cancer map in Egypt, making breast cancer now the most common, which drives us to intensify early detection programs implemented nationwide. Likewise, bladder cancer continues to decline thanks to ongoing efforts in combating schistosomiasis over decades.'

The Minister of Health affirmed that these positive results are the fruit of strategic investment in preventive health, major presidential initiatives, and the tireless work of Egyptian medical teams, pointing out that the ministry continues to strengthen the national cancer registry and early detection to solidify this positive trajectory.