223,000 diagnosed with cancer in Türkiye within year: Report

ANKARA

Around 223,000 individuals have been diagnosed with cancer within a year in the country, the Turkish Cancer Statistics Report has pointed out.

The most prevalent cancer among males were lung, followed by prostate, colon, bladder and stomach, the report suggested. Among women, on the other hand, the most common type of cancer was breast, followed by thyroid, colon, uterine and lung cancers.

The Cancer Early Diagnosis, Screening and Training Centers (KETEM) conduct community-based screening programs to detect breast, cervical and colon cancer cases at an early stage, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of these screening efforts, women aged 40 to 69 receive a clinical breast examination once a year, with mammography being performed every two years.

Every five years, women aged 30-65 receive cervical cancer screenings, undergoing HPV-DNA testing.

Women and men aged 50 to 70 undergo fecal occult blood tests to screen for colon cancer every two years, with colonoscopy advised every 10 years.

Last year, around 3.3 million individuals were checked for breast cancer, 3.5 million for cervical cancer and 2.7 million for colon cancer at Health Ministry-affiliated screening sites across Türkiye.