What is the importance of early diagnosis of cancer?

All cancers, lead to death if not detected and treated properly. When cancers are diagnosed in early stages, i.e., when the extent is limited, high cure rates can be achieved by relatively simple, inexpensive therapy that is less toxic and ensures a high quality of life after treatment.
Early detection is particularly important in developing countries where, at the present time, up to 80% of cancers are diagnosed in advanced stages and less than 50% of patients survive for more than five years. The most common cancers in developing countries are cancers of the lung, stomach, liver, breast, uterine cervix (neck of the womb), head and neck, oesophagus, large bowel, urinary bladder and lymphoma and leukemia, which together account for four-fifths of all cancers. Of these, early detection and appropriate treatment is currently feasible for the control of cancers of the breast, uterine cervix, head and neck, large bowel and urinary bladder. (Source: http://www.inctr.org/)