Syrian war victims and other refugees suffering from cancer are denied treatment and care by the relief personnel owing to the shortage of funds, as per the UN refugee agency's top medical expert.

In a new report published in the journal The Lancet Oncology, Paul Spiegel opined that a big number of refugees in Jordan and Syria had to do without cancer treatment owing to lack of funds.

The report took into consideration the refugees in Jordan and Syria between the years 2009 to 2012.

Breast cancer evolved as the most common type of cancer affecting refugees, accounting for almost one quarter of all the applications in Jordan to UNHCR's "Exceptional Care Committee", which takes the decision of providing funds for expensive treatments or not.

In Jordan alone, the committee could only approve 246 applications out of 511 refugee applications for treating cancer between the years 2010 and 2012.

The countries accommodating refugees also have to deal with a hefty healthcare bill from cancer and other expensive treatments for chronic ailments.

According to the Lancet report, "The countries in the Middle East have welcomed millions of refugees, first Iraqis and now Syrians. The massive influx of refugees to these countries has stressed their national health systems at all levels".

Paul Spiegel, UNHCR's medical chief said in a statement, "We have to turn away cancer patients with poor prognoses because caring for them is too expensive. After losing everything at home, cancer patients face even greater suffering abroad -- often at a huge emotional and financial cost to their families".

The medical practitioners are forced to take painful and tragic decisions with respect to who is given cancer care and treatment and who is denied the same and are left to take care of themselves.

UNHCR doctor Adam Musa Khalifa expressed his concern in these words, "We face a terrible decision over who to help. Some patients have a good prognosis, but the cost of treating them is too high. These decisions affect all of us psychologically."

The research report in the journal stated that monetary help from international organizations as well as donors not enough, with the cost burden falling on the accommodating government.