DAR ES SALAAM, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Tanzanian Minister for Health Ummy Mwalimu said on Sunday that recorded number of cancer cases in the east African nation is alarming.

       "Health authorities record 42,000 new cases of cancer every year. And 68 percent of the patients die from the disease," Mwalimu said when she laid the foundation stone for a cancer treatment center to be jointly built by the government and the Aga Khan Hospital in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

       "Upon completion of its construction, the center will help in the screening and treatment of cancer," the minister said.

       Mwalimu said the center will treat 120 cancer patients daily, providing relief to state-run Ocean Road Cancer Institute, which is overwhelmed by patients.

       She said the most common types in Tanzania are breast, cervical and prostate cancers and that most cancer patients were diagnosed when their diseases were at advanced stages, urging people to cultivate a habit of regular cancer screening.