Rustem Khamitov suggested developing program for early cancer diagnosing

UFA, 15 June 2017. /Bashinform News Agency/. The Head of Bashkortostan Rustem Khamitov suggested developing a regional program for the early diagnosing of cancer. He stated that at the plenary session of the 9th Congress of Russian Oncologists held in Ufa.

"We should launch a large-scale program on early detection of cancer diseases in the regions as an obligatory component of medical examination of the population," said the Head of the Republic. "It should become a part of corporate responsibility of industrial enterprises, including oil and gas chemistry, mining, metallurgy, and other industries, which have hazardous production facilities."

According to Rustem Khamitov, the situation with oncological diseases in the region, as well as in the country as a whole, remains quite complicated. Mortality from neoplasms ranks second after diseases of the circulatory system. At the same time, every second case of the disease is diagnosed at an early stage in the republic. Thus, in 2016, it was managed to identify timely more than 6.5 thousand (50.3%) neoplasms.

The Head of the Republic noted that much attention was paid in Bashkortostan to strengthening the infrastructure and facilities of the oncological service. Since 2014, one of the few positron emission tomography centres in the country operates in Ufa with the Cyber-knife facility for high-precision methods of radiosurgical treatment. The positron emission tomography centre was opened within the framework of public-private partnership.

"Now, a radiotherapy department of the Republican Oncology Centre is being built also on the terms of public-private partnership. The design engineering of a new ward building with a polyclinic is completed. It will be a large-scale construction. Its cost exceeds 2 billion rubles," said Rustem Khamitov.

A medical and genetic centre, which will open in Ufa in the coming months, will also contribute to the timely detection and prevention of cancer.

"Unfortunately, all cancer patients cannot be helped. Today in the regions, it is necessary to create a network of modern hospices with qualitative emergency and palliative care, including on terms of public-private partnership," Rustem Khamitov underlined.