TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Foreign Affairs Deputy of the Indonesian Society of Respirology (PDPI) Dr. Sita Laksmi Andarini said that lung cancer is the main cause of deaths among Indonesian men. Dr. Sita made the statement during a virtual discussion held by the Cancer Information and Support Center (CISC) on Wednesday, August 26, 2020.

"It's the fifth [highest cause of death] among women in 2012, however, the latest data shows that it is the third highest cause of death among women. It's the first highest cause of death among men, above colorectal and prostate," said Dr. Sita.

She then compared Indonesia's data to those in the United States, which showed that lung cancer is the second-highest cause of deaths after prostate cancer suffered by 116,440 people or equals to 13 percent, with similar stats for women.

Dr. Sita assured that lung cancer can be prevented and cured through various methods such as surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy.

However, Dr. Sita reminded people that smoking remains to be the largest risk factor that can cause lung cancer. Especially considering Indonesia's smoking prevalence remains to be high with records showing 36.1 percent of the entire Indonesian population are active smokers.

ANTARA