Speech by Secretary for Health at plenary session of World Cancer Congress 2026 (English just) (with image)

Following is the speech by the Secretary for Health, Professor Lo Chung-mau, at the plenary session of the World Cancer Congress 2026 today (September 24):

Teacher Jeff Dunn (Former President of the Union for International Cancer Control), Dr Cary Adams (Chief Executive Officer of the Union for International Cancer Control), Professor Jie He (Director of the National Cancer Center), identified visitors, girls and gentlemen,

Great early morning. On behalf of the Health Bureau of the HKSAR (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), I require to thank the UICC (Union for International Cancer Control) and the Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society for hosting this World Cancer Congress in Hong Kong for the very first time, and to invite everybody to Hong Kong.

Following the 2 talks on worldwide and nationwide point of views on cancer control, I would use the Hong Kong SAR’s viewpoint. Under the distinct constitutional benefits of “one country, two systems”our city handles to put the aspirations of minimizing cancer problem into practice through avoidance, early medical diagnosis, fair treatment and continual research study.

Hong Kong has the world’s greatest life span – 88.7 years for ladies and 83.3 years for guys in 2025 – credited to a mix of active city way of lives and safe environment, public health policies, and available inexpensive public health care as a safeguard.

With almost one in 4 people over the age of 65, cancer is the leading cause of death, representing almost 30 percent of all deaths. The leading 5 cancers are lung, breast, colorectum, prostate and liver, while the leading cancer deaths were lung, colon, liver, pancreas and breast. While the variety of brand-new cancer cases continues to increase with an aging population and advanced diagnostics, our age-standardised cancer death rates have actually progressively decreased by over 40 percent in the last 3 years with a yearly decrease of 2.8 percent annually for males and 1.7 percent for females in the last years, suggesting that Hong Kong is making substantial life-saving development versus cancer.

Achievements/past and present

Such development in cancer control would not be possible without policy assistance, tactical preparation, co-ordination and financial investment from the Government. Hong Kong developed the Cancer Coordinating Committee, to create the Hong Kong Cancer Strategy, setting out the general instructions for cancer control covering 7 elements: (1) cancer monitoring, (2) avoidance, (3) screening and early medical diagnosis, (4) prompt and efficient treatment, (5) innovation and assistance, (6) survivorship and palliative care, along with (7) research study. The Hospital Authority (HA), as our biggest public cancer company, released a Strategic Service Framework for Cancer Services, and the Hong Kong Cancer Registry developed because 1963, preserves a thorough population-based cancer database for monitoring with protection reaching 97 percent.

Avoidance

Cancer is not just treatable however avoidable, especially by vaccination versus oncovirus and a healthy way of life. The Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme offers complimentary universal obligatory vaccines for qualified Hong Kong kids to cover 12 contagious illness that consist of 2 oncovirus, liver disease B infection and human papilloma infection HPV. HBV vaccination for all babies because 1988, together with prenatal HBV screening and the extensive availablilty of anti-viral treatment, have actually led to an impressive control in liver cancer. The variety of brand-new cases stopped by 8.2 percent and deaths by 7.6 percent in the last years. School-based HPV vaccination for main school women has actually accomplished a protection rate of over 90 percent amongst 15-year-old women, attaining the vaccination target of the WHO (World Health Organization)’s worldwide method to get rid of cervical cancer.

Promoting a healthy way of life such as tobacco control stays our main technique for cancer avoidance. Through collective neighborhood efforts, smoking cigarettes frequency in Hong Kong has actually dropped from 23.3 percent in the 1980s to a historical low of 8.5 percent in 2015. To even more reduce tobacco damages, we have actually put in location 10 brand-new tobacco control procedures to be carried out in stages. The World Health Organization’s World No Tobacco Day Award to me this year is a remarkable motivation, and due acknowledgment of Hong Kong’s efforts in tobacco control.

Apart from tobacco, we are actively attending to weight problems, a significant danger element for a number of typical cancers. In action to the nationwide Weight Management Year effort and the WHO Acceleration Plan to Stop Obesity worldwide structure, we introduced Hong Kong’s very first Action Plan on Weight Management this year to promote healthy way of lives throughout the city.

Evaluating

Capturing cancer early by screening is another important pillar of our cancer technique. Given that 2004, we have actually broadened our government-subsidised screening efforts action by action, beginning with the Cervical Cancer Screening Programme, followed by the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme, and most just recently the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme. Most of cancer cases determined through these screening programs are discovered at earlier phases, causing much better results. Early this year, we introduced the Hepatitis B Co-care Scheme to offer risk-based screening and long-lasting security for control of persistent liver disease B and to additional fight liver cancer.

Treatment

For those regrettable clients who have cancer, the general public health centers in Hong Kong have actually developed oncology centres in each cluster to supply advance detailed cancer service from medical diagnosis to treatment and palliative care. Our public health care system is greatly moneyed by a frequent yearly budget plan from the Government and acts as a safeguard to supply universal health protection consisting of fair and budget-friendly cancer take care of all, with a 95 percent aid rate even more secured by a copayment waiver system and a yearly cap. It was simply revealed recently in the Chief Executive’s 2026 Policy Address that we will even more boost our incorporated cancer care system.

At the neighborhood level, the District Health Centres will promote a Life Course Preventive Care Plan, determining those with cancer-related danger aspects for management and screening. The Hospital Authority has actually been enhancing diagnostic and treatment centers and capability for cancer, and will commission a brand-new oncology Centre in the Kowloon East Cluster. It will help with the intro of ingenious affordable cancer drugs and advance treatment items into the drug formulary to make sure a fair and inexpensive gain access to for all clients. The cancer case supervisor program, introduced in 2010/11, will be reached cover more cancer clients. A multidisciplinary groups service structure will be enhanced to support cancer survivors in the neighborhood, and to supply integrated palliative care throughout the care continuum.

In addition to the incorporated Chinese-Western medication cancer care pilot program in the HA, the recently opened very first Chinese medication medical facility will provide cancer clients treatments that make use of the strengths of both customs.

Apart from avoidance medical diagnosis and treatment, the Government has actually long supported scientific research study with cancer designated as a concern financing location through the Health and Medical Research Fund. Under its Research Translation Strategy, we position focus on research study with high translational worth and a present commissioned research study is to evaluate AI-assisted low-dose CT (computed tomography) to evaluate for lung cancer in high-risk asymptomatic people. The outcomes of the research study will assist to develop our regional screening technique.

Progressing

Looking ahead, as Hong Kong simply launched its First Five-Year Plan recently with the tactical objective to turn into a health and medical development center, we will get ready to boost cancer control in a continual, evidence-based way, powered by biotechnology, in addition to policy development from the Government.

We will get life-saving ingenious cancer drugs and gadgets to clients much faster than ever previously by reforming our drugs and medical gadget regulative routine with phased execution of the proactive “primary evaluation”facility of the Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, developing the Greater Bay Area Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform, and releasing the Office for Introducing Innovative Drugs and Medical Devices in the Hospital Authority.

Second, we will promote accuracy medication for customised cancer care by increasing hereditary and associated screening capabilities to support more targeted cancer treatment alternatives. With the Government’s assistance, the Hong Kong Genome Institute is continuing the Hong Kong Genome Project, carrying out big scale whole-genome sequencing to allow exact medical diagnoses of genetic cancers, making it possible for customised treatment for clients, along with providing preventive alternatives for their households.

Third, we are executing the five-year eHealth+ advancement strategy to change our territory-wide electronic health record system, eHealth, into an extensive health care info facilities that incorporates information sharing, service shipment and care journey management. For cancer clients, eHealth+ can guarantee constant and customised care, while preventing unneeded duplicated assessments and decreasing medical expenses. In the longer term, as eHealth+ constructs a main database of cancer-related health information for Hong Kong, it will end up being a vital resource for research study to create evidence-based cancer control techniques.

We have AI. AI holds massive pledge – for earlier detection, more precise medical diagnosis, and more effective care shipment. It should be presented thoroughly, fairly, and in a method that matches, rather than changes, the judgement of clinicians. Our technique will be intentional: we will make sure that AI is embraced in a co-ordinated way with appropriate governance, so that its advantages reach clients securely and equitably.

These are not separated efforts. Advanced biotechnology, accuracy medication, digital health and AI are pillars of the exact same vision – a vision of a health care system that is smarter, more customised and more responsive to the requirements of every client.

These advancements are not almost Hong Kong. Hong Kong has the special benefit of delighting in strong assistance from the motherland while being carefully linked to the world. We will continue to take advantage of this position to promote health care co-operation within and beyond the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, adding to the essential nationwide method of “Healthy China”Our city acts as a bridge – linking Eastern and Western approaches to cancer care, equating innovative oncology research study into fair and economical scientific application, and turning visionary public health policy into international life-saving practice. Leveraging our distinct constitutional benefit of “one country, two systems”we are completely put to cultivate international collaborations and advance the shared objective of this Congress.

In closing, as Hong Kong invites the World Cancer Congress for the very first time, we hope this Congress will stimulate originalities, create brand-new cooperations, and restore our cumulative willpower to decrease the international concern of cancer.

On that note, I want you all a remarkable and productive conference. And for those delegates from outdoors Hong Kong, I want you a terrific stay. Thank you.

Ends/Thursday, September 24, 2026

Released at HKT 11:46

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