BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 9 (Xinhua) -- Brunei Darussalam recorded the least number of cases in lung cancer and deaths from lung cancer among the 10 ASEAN member countries, local news daily, the Borneo Bulletin reported on Tuesday citing figures from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Global Cancer Observatory 2018.
The report stated that the sultanate recorded 105 cases and 77 deaths last year.
"Lung cancer killed nearly 1.8 million people globally in 2018, with 61.4 percent of these deaths occurring in the Asia-Pacific region according to the data," the news report stated.
According the report, ASEAN healthcare spending is forecast to reach 740 billion U.S. dollars in 2025, and this rise is expected to hurt the economy and healthcare standards in the region.
About 600 people in Brunei are diagnosed with cancer every year on average, stated Brunei's Health Minister Haji Mohd Isham in his message on World Cancer Day on February last year.
