Guwahati, May 21 (IANS): As many as 19 cancer hospitals will be set up in Assam within two years, including one in Guwahati, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

The government has already identified sites for 13 of the 19 proposed cancer hospitals, he told the media here.

"Assam Cancer Care Foundation set up by the Assam government in association with the Tata Trust will run these cancer hospitals."

The Minister said that most of these proposed hospitals will become operational in the next 24 months, adding that the northeastern region with approximately five crore population reports about 45,000 new cancer cases every year.

He also said that the Dental Council of India had accorded permission to Assam to set up two dental colleges at Dibrugarh and Silchar. The state presently has one dental college.

The new dental colleges, once set up, will have a student intake capacity of 50 students each, thereby doubling the seats for dental course in state dental colleges.