Success rate in cancer treatment has exceeded 80%: Senior Turkish medic

By Burcu Calik Gocumlu

ANKARA (AA) – Thanks to the latest developments in cancer treatment, the success rate has exceeded 80%, a senior Turkish medic said Thursday.

Fevzi Altuntas, founding president of the Ankara-based Leukemia Patients Association, said that cancer treatments have changed,

“There is a transition from chemical to biotechnology, immunology, immune system, cellular therapies.”

“The most important source of these developments is clinical research,” added Altuntas, who is also a chief physician at the Ankara Oncology Training and Research Hospital.

“Considering the last 30 years in cancer treatment, the success rate was around 40%, and it has now exceeded 80%,” he noted.

The most important reason for the success in the cancer treatment rate is participation in clinical trials, he said, adding that “clinical trials prolong survival in cancer.”

“Access to innovative treatments is a chance for patients," he noted, adding that patients should never perceive these treatments as an "experimental subject" situation.

“It is extremely important that patients who receive standard treatments participate in such clinical trials and support them,” he said.

Altuntas was addressing Turkish health reporters in the capital Ankara to mark National Cancer Awareness Week from April 1-7 during an iftar, or fast-breaking dinner, for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Pointing out that this occasion was important in terms of raising the awareness of society against cancer, Altuntas said that according to the 2020 world cancer statistics, approximately 20 million new cancer cases are seen annually and 10 million people die every year due to cancer.

Explaining that deaths from cancer are expected to increase until 2030, Altuntas said that new treatment methods bring very serious developments, especially in some types of cancer.

“For example, deaths from cervical cancer have decreased by around 65%,” he said. “Deaths due to lymph node cancers and leukemias also decreased significantly.”

According to Altuntas, while the number of cancer patients is rising, cancer-related deaths are dropping compared to previous periods.