Egypt’s Minister of Health Khaled Abdel Ghaffar during a meeting to enlist French administrative and nursing teams from the Gustave Roussy Institute, following the review of 394 cancer cases by French specialists in 2025 .. File photo courtesy of the Egyptian cabinet
Despite a 9.8 percent population increase during the same period, the estimated number of new cancer cases declined from around 150,600 to nearly 137,400, while deaths fell from 95,300 to 80,500, Abdel-Ghaffar said, citing the latest estimates from the WHO’s Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN).
“This improvement is not merely a number; it represents thousands of lives saved and hope for millions of Egyptian families,” he said.
Liver cancer recorded the most significant decline, with deaths falling by 22.1 percent and new cases by 16.7 percent, according to a health ministry statement.
Abdel-Ghaffar attributed the decline largely to the presidential 100 Million Healthy Lives Initiative, which helped Egypt eliminate hepatitis C as a public health problem. The virus was previously a major cause of liver cancer in the country.
“Our success in combating hepatitis C has reshaped Egypt’s cancer landscape, with breast cancer now becoming the most common form of the disease,” the minister said.
He added that this shift had prompted the ministry to intensify nationwide breast cancer screening and early-detection programmes.
Bladder cancer rates have also continued to decline because of Egypt’s decades-long efforts to combat schistosomiasis, he noted.
Abdel-Ghaffar attributed the overall improvement to investment in preventive healthcare, presidential health initiatives, and the work of Egyptian medical teams.
“These positive results are the product of strategic investment in preventive healthcare,” he said, adding that the ministry would continue strengthening the national cancer registry and expanding early-detection programmes.
Egypt’s estimated age-standardized cancer incidence rate stood at 137.6 cases per 100,000 people in 2024, around 29 percent below the global average of 194.9, while its mortality rate of 82.4 was only 6 percent below the worldwide rate of 87.8, according to GLOBOCAN.
Both rates remained above the averages for Africa and the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region. Egypt's cancer mortality rate was also higher than that of Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
However, GLOBOCAN figures are modelled estimates, and comparisons between its 2022 and 2024 editions may partly reflect updated data and methodology rather than solely changes occurring during the two years.
Egypt provides cancer treatment through Ministry of Health oncology centres, university hospitals, the National Cancer Institute, charitable facilities, and the Universal Health Insurance System.
Uninsured patients can also receive publicly funded care through the Treatment at State Expense programme, which financed 3.9 million medical procedures in 2024, including treatment for tumours and blood diseases.
Recent efforts have prioritized early detection and faster access to treatment. The Women’s Health Initiative has detected around 40,000 breast cancer cases, 80 percent at an early stage, while reducing the average diagnosis-to-treatment period to 49 days.
Egypt has also introduced immunotherapy into public breast cancer protocols and launched a digital pathology network connecting seven medical sites.
Specialist capacity is expanding through facilities such as Gustave Roussy International–Egypt and new radiotherapy and nuclear medicine units. However, advanced services remain concentrated in major cities, while staffing shortages, medicine costs, and pressure on radiotherapy capacity continue to affect access.
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