Delegates cut the ribbon to open the Radiation Therapy Centre at the VINMEC International Hospital today in Ha Noi. — Photo VINMEC

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — VINMEC International Hospital today opens an advanced radiation therapy centre that provides more treatment facilities to cancer patients in Viet Nam.

Equipped with modern medical facilities, the VND100-billion (US$4.75 million) centre will provide most of the world's advanced techniques in cancer treatment.

"Cancer is a leading disease that kills 70,000 Vietnamese people yearly. The rising cancer rate is worrying the society, while the number of cancer treatment units, especially radiation facilities, is limited in the country," said the hospital's Director Nguyen Thanh Liem.

"The centre will contribute towards reducing the number of Vietnamese people going abroad for cancer treatment," said Liem.

He added that radiation therapy plays an important role in cancer treatment and is given to 50 to 70 per cent of the cancer patients.

Along with the surgery, chemotherapy, stem-cell and gene technology departments, the centre will help to improve the quality of the cancer treatment facilities in the hospital's oncology and cancer department in the coming years.

According to the National Cancer Prevention Programme statistics, Viet Nam sees 200,000 new cancer cases yearly, of which 80 per cent are detected late. — VNS