With incidence of cancer progressively increasing in Rajasthan, those of the head and neck among men and breast among women have emerged as the leading forms of the disease in the State, characterised by the development of abnormal cells.
Patterns revealed
The patterns of cancer have been revealed in an International Classification of Diseases-coded Registry of Cancer developed for the first time by a cancer speciality hospital here recently. The Registry of Cancer has identified five leading cancers in males and females, besides highlighting the pattern in the two genders.
Men constitute 57% and women 43% of all the cancer patients in the State, S. G. Kabra, director (clinical services) at Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital, said here this past week. He said the five leading cancers constituted over 90% of all cancers among males and over 70% of all cancers among females.
Cancers of lip, oral cavity and pharynx, respiratory and intrathoracic organs, digestive organs, lymphoid, haematopoietic and related tissues and genital organs are the leading forms of malignancy among men in the State. Among women, the leading cancers are those of breasts, genital organs, digestive organs and benign neoplasm.
Dr. Kabra said while the growing incidence of cancer was a cause for concern for healthcare providers in the State, reliable statistics were not available to plan treatment or provide free medicines. “Unless the State government makes cancer a notifiable disease, reliable comprehensive statistics of the disease will not be available,” he said.
Dr. Kabra said the percentage occurrence of cancer in Rajasthan was constant during the last five years for which the ICD-coded statistics were available. As Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital receives patients from all over the State, the representative sample of 9,181 patients treated during 2018 depicts a fairly accurate pattern of the disease.
‘Donate a Life’
The hospital has also established a “Donate a Life” fund, with the help of philanthropists, trusts and donors, for treatment of children from poor families suffering from blood cancer. The fund’s beneficiaries are children below 14 years suffering from three types of curable blood cancers – low-risk acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute promylocytic leukaemia and Hodgkin's lymphoma.