The rate of cancer-related deaths in Malta has dropped by 11% over the past five years, thanks in part to the country's breast cancer screening program, according to an article from the Times of Malta.
Malta experienced 221 cancer-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2016, down from 247 in 2011. The cancer death rates were among the lowest in the European Union, the report noted.
The decline in deaths was largely due to improvements in breast cancer and leukemia mortality rates. The Malta breast screening program is now a decade old, and early diagnosis probably led to better survival rates for breast cancer patients, according to the article.
