Message from Director of Health

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world, incurring a heavy healthcare burden to various countries and regions. Cancer is also a major public health issue in Hong Kong. In 2019, nearly one-third of all deaths in Hong Kong were attributed to cancer. In the wake of population growth and population ageing, the incidence of cancer and the related healthcare burden will continue to increase.

Cancer’s aetiology is multifactorial, and an unhealthy lifestyle, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, overweight and obesity, could cause cancer. Primary preventive measures which aim at reducing exposure to risk factors is key to cancer prevention, including adequate physical activity, avoiding smoking and alcohol, maintaining a healthy weight and waist circumference, etc. The Department of Health attaches great importance to the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. In May 2018, we launched "Towards 2025: Hong Kong's Non-communicable Disease Prevention and Control Strategy and Action Plan", emphasizing interventions throughout the life course to promote healthy lifestyle and building an enabling environment through multi-sectoral collaborations for prevention and control of non-communicable diseases. In addition to promoting healthy lifestyle, various primary preventive strategies are also adopted by the Department of Health based on scientific evidence. For example, from the 2019/20 school year, the Department of Health has introduced human papillomavirus vaccination targeting Primary Five school girls from the 2019/20 school year for preventing cervical cancer.

Moreover, the Cancer Expert Working Group on Cancer Prevention and Screening under the Cancer Coordinating Committee has been regularly reviewing the local and overseas scientific evidence to make relevant recommendations appropriate to the local context. In response, the Department of Health has rolled out cancer screening programmes in accordance with these recommendations, including the Cervical Cancer Screening Programme and the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme, and has launched the Breast Cancer Screening Pilot Programme offering breast cancer screening with a risk-based approach in September 2021. The Department of Health will continue to adopt an evidence-based approach in regard to implementation of cancer screening, so as to achieve early diagnosis of cancer and identification of precancerous lesions, for initiating early treatment and thereby improving treatment outcomes.

The prevention and control of cancer requires everyone’s participation. Only with the concerted efforts of all sectors of society would the outcome be optimised. I hereby appeal to all of you to support cancer prevention and control by pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and to work together with the government to reduce the healthcare burden of cancer and build a healthy society!