“There Is No Cancer in Israel” — One of History’s Biggest Lies!

In recent years, we have seen increasing numbers of falsehoods and abuses in the cancer field. In everyday life, we witness these claims negatively affecting many patients and their relatives, while regrettably observing how deeply they shake healthy people’s trust in science. Although some of these falsehoods are spread for commercial purposes, we believe that most arise from a lack of knowledge. Through our articles on this subject, we aim to inform you using scientific evidence.

Before discussing the claim that there is no cancer in Israel, let us look at the facts:

In 2012, annual new cancer incidence worldwide was 182 per 100 thousand people. The figure was higher among men than women: 205 per 100 thousand men and 165 per 100 thousand women.

With 338 new cancer cases annually per 100 thousand people, Denmark had the highest cancer incidence.

Israel, claimed to have no cancer cases or very few, is actually the country with the world’s 19th-highest cancer incidence. Israel records an average of 283 new cancer cases per 100 thousand people each year. Given its population of 8.5 million, the country claimed to have no cancer is expected to see 24 thousand new cancer diagnoses in Israel every year . Moreover, cancer mortality rates in Israel do not differ between Jews and Arabs.

Table: World Health Organization Cancer Statistics for 2012

Israel’s own published statistics show that 25.531 people were diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and that 10.640 people died of cancer that same year, according to the ICA–Israel Cancer Association website.

Statistics suggest that one in every 3 Israelis will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in life.

According to these data and its own statistics, Israel has the world’s highest incidence of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, an aggressive lymph node cancer, and the world’s 2nd-highest mortality rate from this lymphoma type. Furthermore, the population with the highest worldwide prevalence of BRCA gene mutations causing hereditary breast cancerthrough changes in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes is Ashkenazi Jews.

A less-discussed feature of Israel that deserves attention is the importance it places on clinical trials . Medical Tourism is an important source of income for Israel. Receiving many patients from the Middle East and Europe, especially the Russian region, contributes to Israel’s financial strength. Alongside medical tourism, another priority is clinical research in cancer. Clinical trials are the most important determinant in the approval and licensing of a new cancer drug. Israel stands out as the Middle Eastern country conducting the most cancer clinical trials. With a population of approximately 8 million, it conducted 250 cancer clinical trials in 2017, whereas Turkey, with a population exceeding 70 million, lagged considerably behind with 120 trials.

The importance attached to medical tourism and clinical trials is also growing in Turkey. Every major cancer center has begun prioritizing medical tourism and clinical trials in various cancer types. We hope that Turkey will become one of the world’s leading centers for both medical tourism and clinical research.

As for the statement that there is no cancer in Israel, the scientific data presented above show that it is FALSE. Anyone who promotes or spreads the claims “There is no cancer in Cuba” or “There is no cancer in Israel” contributes, knowingly or unknowingly, to medical tourism in those countries. Turkey’s capabilities in cancer care and health can compete with those of the most advanced countries. Instead of pursuing these falsehoods, let us conduct scientific research and clinical trials that move our country forward, and offer more support to our country and scientists.