A total of 7,244 people were diagnosed with cancer in Mongolia in 2023, the country’s National Cancer Center said Tuesday.

Around 65 percent of the cancer patients were diagnosed too late, and 87 percent of them are those aged 45 and older, the center said in a statement on the occasion of the World Cancer Day that falls on 4 February each year.

In addition, 4,556 people died of cancer in the country last year, it said, adding that 62 percent of them died less than a year after diagnosis.

The five most common cancers are liver, gastric, lung, cervical, and esophageal cancers, according to the center.

With a population of 3.5 million, the Asian country launched nationwide health checkups in May 2022 to detect serious diseases early, such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases, to promote a healthy lifestyle, and narrow the life expectancy gap between men and women.

Late diagnosis makes treatment less likely to succeed and reduces survival chances, the country’s health ministry has said, urging the public to actively participate in the checkups free of charge.