Egypt

National breast cancer rate doubles

The number of cases of breast cancer in Egypt has doubled in recent years, with 45 out of every 100 cancer patients now suffering from breast cancer, according to a leading local scientist.

Dr. Salah el-Misidy, professor of cancer and nuclear medicine, attributed the dramatic increase to the fact that women are getting married at a relatively older age and to the misuse of hormone-adjustment medicines taken during the menopausal stage.

In a press conference Wednesday, Dr. Misidy announced that Cairo would host the second international conference on breast cancer on 21 January.

"Participants of the two-day conference will discuss–for the first time–ways of referring to the genetic map of breast cancer in order to determine appropriate treatment, as opposed to the current method of simply analyzing carcinogenic cells," he explained. "They will also discuss the possibility of using robots to carry out surgeries on tumors found in women’s reproductive organs."

Conference organizer Dr. Hisham el-Ghazali said that members of the European Association for Tumor Treatment would participate in the event, noting that the association had encouraged a number prominent physicians from around the world to attend.

"We will discuss points of difference between Egyptian doctors and their foreign counterparts regarding tumor treatment so as to arrive at a unified method that can be employed worldwide," Dr. Ghazali said. "Also among the topics to be discussed will be ways of treating tumors in women’s reproductive organs without harming fertility."

Professor of gynecology Maged Abu Seda said there was little accurate data available about the incidence of tumors in Egypt. "For this reason, we always recommend that women go in for regular checkups," he said.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.

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