People who undergo colorectal cancer or breast cancer screening regularly have an average life expectancy three years longer than those who do not, the Taiwan Association of Medical Screening said yesterday.
Cancer has been the nation’s leading cause of death for more than four decades, and 54,032 people died of cancer last year, the Health Promotion Administration (HPA) said yesterday.
The agency in 2010 began offering government-funded cancer screening for adults in the hope of detecting precancerous conditions or early-stage cancer, thereby reducing cancer incidence and deaths, HPA Director-General Wu Chao-chun (吳昭軍) said.
Photo: Lin Chih-yi, Taipei Times
The HPA’s screening program began with tests for breast cancer, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer and oral cancer, and in 2022, added screening for lung cancer.
The agency expanded the age eligibility for some of the tests this year.
Many cancers show no symptoms in their early stages, so screening is needed to detect them, Wu said, adding that the five-year survival rates of early-stage cancers are very high.
The HPA collaborated with the Taiwan Association of Medical Screening for the first time this year to analyze cancer screening data and understand its effectiveness, including effects on life expectancy, Wu said.
Based on the analysis, women who undergo breast cancer screening could extend their average life expectancy by 3.38 years, and those who undergo a fecal occult blood test to screen for colorectal cancer could extend their average life expectancy by 3.1 years, association council member Chuang Shao-yuan (莊紹源) said.
The average life expectancies for women who receive a pap test regularly for cervical cancer screening and high-risk groups who receive routine oral mucosal screening could be extended by 2.33 years and 0.59 years respectively, he said.
The study showed that the estimated economic value of increased life expectancy from screening for colorectal cancer, cervical cancer and breast cancer is US$194.3 billion, US$143.4 billion and US$114.5 billion respectively, Chuang said.
Association chair Hsu Chen-yang (許辰陽) added that women who receive routine screening for breast cancer, colorectal cancer and cervical cancer could even extend their average life expectancy by eight to nine years, compared with those who never undergo screening.
Cancer screening not only increases life expectancy, but also improves people’s quality of life, as it prevents people from developing severe complications, disabilities and hospitalization from late-stage cancers if they receive proper treatment in precancerous or early stages, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said.
It also helps improve national productivity and relieves the burden on healthcare systems, he said.
Wu encouraged people who are eligible for government-funded cancer screening to get tested as soon as possible.
They can use the National Health Insurance smartphone app to check their eligibility and find a screening station near them, he added.
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