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Nearly half of head and neck cancer patients die within a year of diagnosis: doc
Why it is in news?
- Head and neck (mouth, larynx, throat or nose) cancers account for a large portion of the total number of cancer cases reported in India, and nearly half of the patients with such type of cancers die within a year of diagnosis, said doctors.
Stats
- India reports 1.75 lakh new cases of head and neck cancers every year — 76% of cases are reported in males and 24% in females.
- Nearly 70% of head and neck cancers are related to consumption of tobacco, areca nut and alcohol.
- In India, consumption of chewing tobacco is more prevalent than smoking cigarettes or bidis.
- Doctors said that nearly 90% of oral and throat cancers are due to tobacco use.
- Over 13 lakh people are dying in India every year due to tobacco use, which is a major cause of cancer.
- The cure rates range from 85%-90% in early stages, but drops to 30%-40% in advanced cases.
Concerns
- Doctors have urged people to stay away from tobacco as it is a major cause of head and neck cancers.
- India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of people consuming chewing tobacco in the world.
- It is a cheap and easily available addiction and its growing consumption in the last two decades has contributed to alarming rise in oral cancer.
- In India, consumption of chewing tobacco is more prevalent than smoking cigarettes or bidis. Doctors said that nearly 90% of oral and throat cancers are due to tobacco use.
- Increased consumption of chewing tobacco, gutka and betel nut have led to a rise in cases of mouth cancer.
- Frequent consumption of alcohol has also raised the risk of developing mouth cancer.
- A combination of heavy smoking and alcohol consumption can compound the risk.
- In most cases, delay in seeking medical advice severely reduces the rate of treatment success.
- Many patients only come for treatment in advanced stages.
Way forward
- A preventive approach is needed to tackle the problem.
- The focus of all preventive measures should be on the youth in order to have a healthy society.
- ‘Pledge for Life’ is a campaign that aims at making all educational institutes tobacco-free so that children do not use tobacco.
- The most effective treatment for head and neck cancers is surgery, with or without radiotherapy. Head and neck cancers usually do not spread to other parts of the body very early, and surgery is possible in most cases.
