ONE in every 600 Cypriot children under the age of 17 develops cancer every year, Dr Loizos Loizou, the director of the Makarios Hospital’s Oncology Centre for Children, told a news conference yesterday.
The stark figures came as Loizou announced that Cyprus would host an International Seminar on Children’s Cancer and Leukaemia next week, attended by foreign doctors and academics.
Seventy per cent of child cancer cases are cured, Loizou told the Cyprus Mail, but the remaining three out of 10 children died.
The frequency of cases – about 335 a year — has remained stable for the last decade, after increasing slightly in the 1980s.
“The numbers are a little bit high for Cyprus, but we do not know the reason why,” he said.
“Early diagnosis can help to save a child’s life,” Loizou added, advising parents to have their children examined whenever they notice something unusual.
Most young cancer sufferers have leukaemia, (30 per cent), brain tumours (20 per cent) and lymphoma (15 per cent.)
But doctors still do not know what causes the disease in children.
“We can only pinpoint the cause of cancer in five out of 100 cases.”
He said youngsters with cancer received excellent medical care, with the Makarios Oncology Centre also providing psychological support to both patients and their families.
Elpida, a centre in Nicosia for child sufferers and their families, also provides support.
Loizou said that the International Seminar taking place next week would educate Cypriot oncologists and improve the country’s oncology services.
The conference will be held at the Nicosia Hilton from Monday to Friday. It is organised by the European School of Oncology and the International Company of Children’s Oncology.
The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.
