MEASURES TO COMBAT CANCER IN AUSTRIA

UNCLAS VIENNA 000126 SIPDIS STATE PASS OES/IHB LISA MILLER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SOCI SENV TBIO WHO KPAO AU SUBJECT: MEASURES TO COMBAT CANCER IN AUSTRIA REF: STATE 7680 ¶1. On World Cancer Day, Minister of Health Alois Stoeger announced that the GoA will put more emphasis on preventative measures against cancer. The Ministry of Health is evaluating a special screening process to improve the early diagnosis of breast and uterine cancer in women. Officials say that a mammography program targeting specific high-risk groups, such as female migrants, has brought excellent results. ¶2. A cancer patients' self-help group, "Cancer Forum Austria", used the opportunity of World Cancer Day to urge "necessary improvements" in Austria's campaign to fight cancer. The group advocated the following; encouraging Austrians to take advantage of the free medical exam, (Note: In Austria, those with health insurance (99 percent of the population),are entitled to undergo an annual medical exam at the expense of the mandatory health care insurance system. End note) taking free HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccinations, investing in complementary treatment methods, and banning smoking in restaurants. ¶3. Reports in the Austrian media and medical sources indicate a recent accomplishment by Austrian researchers in the fight against cancer. Researchers at the University of Salzburg, in cooperation with the Burnham Institute for Medical Research in La Jolla, California, have determined the process of programmed cell death (apoptosis). Apostosis occurs naturally in the body but cancer tumors can block this process, rendering chemotherapy treatment ineffective. According to Robert Schwarzenbacher from the Salzburg Institute of Molecular Biology, these new findings could lead to the development of new cancer treatments. ¶4. BACKGROUND: According to the latest official statistics, 36,000 persons (0.5 percent of the population) are diagnosed with cancer every year in Austria. Around 19,000 persons per year die from the disease, accounting for a quarter of all deaths. The most frequent forms of cancer are breast cancer (28 percent) and prostate cancer (26 percent). Experts attribute declining cancer risk in the past decade to an improvement in the number of early diagnoses. KILNER