The deputy health minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran said that about 390 new cancer cases are diagnosed in the country every day, meaning that every hour about 16 families find out that one of their members has cancer.

Alireza Raeisi, on Monday, at a meeting, put the daily number of women’s cancer cases at about 190 to 200 and announced that a new cancer case is diagnosed in the country every three to four minutes.

The deputy health minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran also, while criticizing the quality of domestically produced cars, including Iran Khodro products, claimed that the high fuel consumption and pollution caused by these cars, in addition to increasing road fatalities, also play a role in increasing the risk of developing cancer.

He also rejected describing the situation of cancer in Iran as a “cancer tsunami,” and emphasized that about 40 percent of cancer cases are preventable, and that if preventive programs are implemented, tens of thousands of cases of illness can be prevented each year.