The number of Vietnamese children suffering from cancer has risen in recent years.

The number of children aged 5-15 being treated for the disease at the country's Central Pediatric Hospital in Hanoi capital rose to 1,708 in 2004 from 1,394 in 2003 and 1,262 in 2002, the hospital's deputy director Nguyen Van Loc told Xinhua on Tuesday.

On average, the hospital annually receives 200 new cancer patients in recent years, he said, noting that a large number of the children are suffering from leukemia and malignant brain tumor.

The mortality rate among children infected with cancer is high, because most of them are hospitalized too late. Some 90 percent of the patients did not go to hospital until they exhibited complications like nervous disorder.

Vietnam has annually detected some 150,000 new cancer patients in recent years. Leading types of cancer include lung cancer, breast cancer, and leukemia.

Source: Xinhua