KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A regional effort to improve cervical cancer care for patients has launched in Malaysia. Involving 6 countries in Southeast Asia, Project ACTIVE 2.0 aims to enhance cervical cancer treatment and support patient recovery across Southeast Asia. The three-year initiative will focus on strengthening healthcare systems through clinical training, infrastructure upgrades, and digital innovations, with the goal of expanding access to high-quality, targeted cervical cancer care for patients and their families.

Cervical cancer remains a significant health challenge in Southeast Asia, with over 69,000 new cases and 38,000 deaths reported in 2022, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). While modern radiation treatment has significantly improved outcomes, gaps in access to advanced treatment and trained experts persist. ACTIVE 2.0 addresses these gaps through expanded medical training, upgraded infrastructure, and patient-centered innovations in cancer care.

"ACTIVE 2.0 is an important step toward improving access to advanced cancer care across Southeast Asia, including Malaysia," said Paul Lee, Project Director  of ACTIVE 2.0. "Through this project, Malaysia will boost the number of clinicians trained in advanced cervical cancer treatment, strengthen the local hospital capabilities, and better support patients through their recovery journey. The aim is bringing hope to everybody dealing with cervical cancer."

ACTIVE 2.0 will collaborate with the top oncology treatment centers in peninsula Malaysia as well as east Malaysia, to establish a network of four Centers of Excellence (CoE) for cervical cancer treatment. These centers will receive from the project advanced radiotherapy training equipment as well as infrastructure to support the long-term recovery of their patients.

"Cervical cancer remains a significant health concern in Malaysia, particularly for women in underserved communities," said Dr. Ros Suzanna Ahmad Bustamam, Head of Department of Radiotherapy & Oncology, Hospital Kuala Lumpur. "While radiotherapy is already part of cancer care in the country, ACTIVE 2.0 allows us to further strengthen local expertise in very advanced cancer treatment, and contribute to Malaysia's development.  Through this collaboration, we aim to enhance treatment quality and support broader access to advanced cancer care in Malaysia."

Deutsche Investitions-und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG)

DEG Impulse, a member of the KfW Bankengruppe (KfW banking group), finances investments of private companies in developing and transition countries. As one of Europe's largest development finance institutions, it promotes private business structures to contribute to sustainable economic growth and improved living conditions.

For more information, visit www.deginvest.de

Elekta 

As a leader in precision radiation therapy, Elekta is committed to ensuring every patient has access to the best cancer care possible. We openly collaborate with customers to advance sustainable, outcome-driven and cost-efficient solutions to meet evolving patient needs, improve lives and bring hope to everyone dealing with cancer.

For more information, visit www.elekta.com 

The Federation of Asian Organizations for Radiation Oncology (FARO)

FARO is a non-profit and scientific organization which is intended to function as a federation of radiation oncology societies in Asia and aims to foster the role of radiation oncology to improve the basic level of radiotherapy for the benefit of the cancer patients in the Asian region.

For more information, visit www.faro.asia 

Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (ASSIST)

ASSIST is an international non-government organization focused on capacity building. Its goal is to empower its target groups to make them resilient to the social, economic and environmental challenges.

For more information, visit www.assistasia.org