It is estimated that 200,000 people will contract the disease and 100,000 will die of it by 2010.

Currently, lung, liver, and stomach cancers are the most common in Vietnam and 70 percent of cases are in the final stage when diagnosed.

The rate of cancer increases at the age of 40 and is greater in men than in women. The news was released at a recent international seminar held in Hanoi to discuss the application of nuclear medicine in cancer, cardiovascular and other diseases.

The seminar offered an opportunity for both international and local experts to share experiences on nuclear medicine, especially in the fields of Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for cancer detection.