India is grappling with a significant burden of head and neck cancer, with the underprivileged sections of the society being the most affected one, notably workers and labourers, due to the rampant tobacco consumption, the oncologists warned here at an event on Monday while stressing on prevention strategies and early detection.
“Head & neck cancer has become a major problem for Asia. It is a poor man’s disease, chief reasons being smokeless tobacco and smoking. India reports about 1.5 million new cancer cases annually.
“ In 2022, our cancer hospital registered about 3,000 cases of head and neck cancers, which constitute 19% of all cancers. But less than 30 per cent patients undergo surgery as our focus is on multi-modal treatment,” said Dr. AK Dewan, Director, Surgical Oncology at the 22nd annual RGCON 2024, themed ‘Head and Neck Cancer: Bridging the Gap from Cure to Survivorship’, hosted by the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC).
Data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) too shows that in the last 15 years, cancer has become one of the top causes of mortality and morbidity in India. From 27 per cent of the country’s cancer burden in 2020, this is likely to increase in India which is the second leading consumer of tobacco products.
Dr Alok Thakar, Professor of head-neck surgery and otorhinolaryngology at the AIIMS, New Delhi pointed out that oral cancer cases are on rise due to unabated sale and consumption of tobacco products like cigarette, beedi, khaini, tambaku, gutka and zarda and stressed on regulation in actual sense to help cut down the country’s health burden.
“Head and neck cancers represent nearly 30 per cent of all cancer cases in India, with projections indicating a startling 50 per cent increase by 2040,” Rakesh Chopra, Chairman of RGCIRC echoed similar concerns. “With 60 per cent of people in the labour class found to be consuming some form of tobacco, they constitute the most vulnerable sections of the society. Preventive measures, therefore become imperative, and early detection plays a pivotal role, as 80% of all cancers are curable in the early stages,” he added.
Emphasizing the role of technology in diagnostics, DS Negi, CEO of RGCIRC, highlighted AI’s transformative impact. “AI algorithms can swiftly identify cancer patterns, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and significantly reducing the turnaround time. This innovation holds promise in early disease detection and improving patient outcomes,” he said.
