Most oral cancers linked to tobacco use: Study

Bhubaneswar: One in three men and one in nine women are suffering from oral cancer in Khurda district, including the state capital, with tobacco usage being the main reason, the population-based cancer registry (PBCR) has revealed. Following the findings, Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) Mumbai and other agencies have proposed specific measures to control cancer prevalence in the area.
The registry pointed out that 144 of 1,625 cases in Khurda district are that of oral cancer. The majority of cancers in the district are tobacco-related. The leading sites for tobacco-related cancers are the mouth, lung and tongue in both men and women.
Mouth cancer incidence among men is very high in Varanasi (18.4 age-adjusted incidence rate per one lakh population). In Khurda district it is 11.1.
"Health officials such as medical officers and nursing staff should be trained in oral visual examination and tobacco cessation counselling. All tobacco users attending urban and rural primary health centres and district hospitals should undergo an oral visual examination. Odisha govt needs to raise awareness of the Tobacco Quit Line Number 1800-11-2356," the report stated.
It further recommended that the Odisha govt should strengthen the infrastructure of district hospitals for the diagnosis of oral, breast, cervix uteri, stomach, and gall bladder cancers. There is a need to strengthen the referral of screen positives/pre-cancerous lesions/likely cancer cases for further investigation at state govt hospitals and other cancer centres in the area, the report added.
Odisha govt, with the help of TMC, Mumbai, and other cancer centres in Odisha, should organise a continuing medical education programme for medical and paramedical staff for the prevention of leading cancers in the district, said the report.
"There is under-reporting/under-diagnosis of paediatric cancer. It is recommended to start a state-level paediatric cancer registry, which will be helpful to monitor the surveillance of paediatric cancer. Odisha govt should organise periodic meetings with all stakeholders to monitor cancer care services in the district," recommended the PBCR report.