Editorial | Investment needed to fight biggest killer
- Massive increases in public spending in health and care services are needed to cope with a growing ageing population and the rise in cancers
Hong Kong has long been put on notice that its ageing population will demand massive increases in public spending on health and care services if the current level is to be maintained, let alone improved. A further early warning is to be found in a single statistic in the latest figures from the cancer registry. This is a 17.2 per cent increase in cases of prostate cancer, from 1,912 in 2016 to 2,240 the following year. It is the biggest percentage increase among all types of cancer, which rose 5.1 per cent from a year earlier, the highest year-on-year increase for a decade.
Prostate cancer is more common in elderly men, to the extent it is not uncommon for them to die with it, rather than of it. With an increasing number of men in older age groups, further rises in figures are to be expected. It is not clear how much this can be attributed to better diagnostic tests and screening, and greater awareness of risks. Dr Wong Kam-hung, director of the registry, also puts it down to the willingness of people to see a doctor sooner when feeling unwell.
Wong said the increase was particularly alarming in view of the upwards trend in cancers over the past few years. Dr Angus Leung Kwong-chuen, oncologist and council member of the Hong Kong Prostate Foundation, said that apart from screening and awareness, the increase may be due to a less healthy lifestyle, involving the consumption of more red meat and fats but less fibre, a lack of exercise and central obesity – all high-risk factors for prostate cancer.
The overall increase in new cancer cases by more than 5 per cent to 33,075 is a trend that could impose a heavy burden on an already stressed health care system.
Cancer remains the biggest killer in Hong Kong, claiming 14,446 lives last year or about one third of all deaths in the city, with colorectal cancer being the most common among men and breast cancer among women. All current clinical and anecdotal experience points to greater awareness of risks and symptoms, and greater access to screening and the latest diagnostic methods as the most effective tools to fight the disease. Investment in such kinds of cancer prevention will help contain the inevitable extra burden on the public health system.