Malta’s negligent reporting and poor documentation of the incidence of pancreatic cancer “is causing the death of Maltese patients,” according to a European study.

The local system came under harsh criticism by Arne Bjornberg, head of the Health Consumer Powerhouse, who said Malta had to focus on “the very basics in pancreatic cancer care – training doctors to detect the cancer at an early stage and monitor basic treatment data”.

The Swedish-based research organisation, which yesterday published the Euro Pancreatic Cancer Index, pointed out that poor documentation hindered efficient cancer care.

“In Malta, the lack of reporting is even worse than in neighbouring countries, which make most assessments futile. But I am afraid that such negligence causes the death of Maltese patients,” Dr Bjornberg said.

Dubbed the “silent killer”, the cancer of the pancreas – an organ that helps digestion through the breakdown of food and absorption of nutrients and also produces important hormones such as insulin – is often detected too late, making treatment impossible.

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