Egypt has achieved a significant reduction in its cancer burden, according to the latest estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) of the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar announced on Tuesday.
Abdel Ghaffar described the figures as an unprecedented milestone in the country’s fight against cancer, attributing the progress to sustained government efforts and preventive health initiatives launched under President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.
The minister revealed that the age-standardized cancer mortality rate fell by 23.5%, while the age-standardized incidence rate declined by 17.2% between the 2022 and 2024 estimates.
Despite a 9.8% increase in Egypt’s population during the same period, the number of new cancer cases dropped from about 150,600 to 137,400, while cancer-related deaths declined from 95,300 to 80,500.
Liver cancer recorded the sharpest improvement, with deaths falling by 22.1% and new cases by 16.7%, reflecting the success of the presidential “100 Million Healthy Lives” initiative, which largely eliminated hepatitis C—the leading cause of liver cancer in Egypt.
Abdel Ghaffar noted that, as liver cancer has declined, breast cancer has become the country’s most common cancer, prompting expanded nationwide early detection programmes.
He added that bladder cancer continues to decrease thanks to long-running efforts to combat schistosomiasis.
The minister said the results reflect Egypt’s long-term investment in preventive healthcare, national screening programmes, and cancer registration systems.
Abdel Ghaffar stressed that the ministry will continue strengthening early detection and cancer surveillance to sustain the positive trend.
