The Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday that cancer remained the leading cause of death in Taiwan for the 44th consecutive year last year, with the latest data showing an increase in mortality rates from lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer.
Lu Shujun, an official from the Statistics Division of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said at a press conference that the total number of deaths in Taiwan last year was 199,576, a decrease of 1,807 from the previous year, and the mortality rate per 100,000 people was 854.7, a decrease of 0.6%.
According to data from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the top ten causes of death last year were cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, hypertensive disease, accident injuries, nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and kidney disease, chronic lower respiratory diseases and suicide.
Lu Shujun said that most of the data have not changed compared with the previous year. Only kidney disease, which ranked eighth, and chronic lower respiratory tract disease, which ranked ninth, have swapped places.
She noted that suicide remains the 10th leading cause of death, while COVID-19 has slipped to 19th from 14th last year.
Data show that cancer claimed 54,838 lives last year, including 32,537 men and 22,301 women, accounting for 27.5% of the total deaths.
The cancer death rate was 234.9 per 100,000 population, while the age-standardized cancer death rate fell from 113.3 to 111.5 per 100,000 population.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the average annual increase in cancer deaths over the past decade has been 1.5%.
Lu Shujun said that last year, trachea, bronchus and lung cancer; liver and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; colon, rectum and anus cancer ranked among the top three causes of cancer deaths for the 22nd consecutive year.
According to data from the ministry, the ranking of the top ten causes of cancer death in Taiwan is the same as the previous year, which are trachea, bronchus and lung cancer; liver and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; colon, rectum and anus cancer; breast cancer; prostate cancer; oral cancer; pancreatic cancer; stomach cancer; esophageal cancer; and ovarian cancer.
Data show that, except for lung cancer, pancreatic cancer and ovarian cancer, where the age-standardized mortality rates increased by 3.5%, 8.2% and 12.7% respectively, the age-standardized mortality rates of all ten cancers decreased compared with the previous year.
Age-standardized mortality rates are calculated by eliminating the effects of uneven age distribution.
Lin Liru, deputy director of the Health Promotion Agency, attributes the rise in mortality rates in part to long-term exposure to cancer risk factors and Taiwan's aging population - about one-fifth of the population is 65 or older.
There are currently no effective, universally recommended screening tools for pancreatic and ovarian cancer, and routine screening of asymptomatic people is not recommended, she said, adding that long-term monitoring is needed to determine whether the upward trend continues.
At the same time, Lu Shujun said that the age-standardized death rates of breast cancer, oral cancer and gastric cancer, which are covered by the government screening program, decreased compared with the previous year; the death rates of lung cancer and cervical cancer increased; colorectal cancer remained unchanged.
