On April 27 and 28, Bach Mai Hospital, the Vietnam Cancer Society, the Vietnam Society of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, and the Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation Council on Nuclear Medicine organized an international conference on Nuclear Medicine and Cancer. The conference attracted the attention of leading professors and doctors specializing in oncology from Vietnam and ten countries in the Asia-Pacific region.
The aim of the conference was to exchange advancements, early detection methods, and new applications of Nuclear Medicine in the treatment of cancer. Presentations provided information on the cancer situation in various countries. In Vietnam, cancer has become a significant public health burden, with incidence rates increasing with age, particularly rising sharply between the ages of 40 and 44.
Since the 1970s, Vietnam has been using nuclear medicine to treat cancer, although its development has been limited and confined to certain types of cancer. Currently, the country has only 20 facilities offering nuclear medicine cancer treatments. According to the recommendations from the World Health Organization, nearly 1 million people require access to treatment facilities. A report from the Nuclear Medicine Department at Bach Mai Hospital highlighted that their treatment methods have progressed to meet international standards, with costs that are affordable for the Vietnamese population.
During the conference, several early cancer detection and diagnostic devices were introduced, with particular interest shown in the PET scanner—one of the latest devices for cancer detection.
