About 70 pc of premature cancer deaths in 2020 preventable, 30 pc treatable: Lancet study
New Delhi (PTI): About 70 per cent of the 5.3 million premature deaths from cancer globally in 2020 were preventable, while the remaining 30 per cent were treatable, according to a new The Lancet Global Health research.
Of the total deaths, 2.9 million were in men, while 2.3 million were in women, the study said, which had used the GLOBOCAN 2020 database on cancer mortality from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) for analysis.
The IARC conducts and coordinates research into the causes of cancer and is an intergovernmental agency under the World Health Organization of the United Nations.
Tobacco, alcohol, obesity, and infections accounted for roughly 1.3 million deaths in women across all age groups in 2020, the study reported, acknowledging that the burden of cancer in women due to these risk factors was widely under-recognised.
Further, the study suggested that 1.5 million premature cancer deaths in women could be prevented each year through the elimination of exposures to key risk factors or via early detection and diagnosis, while a further 0.8 million lives could be saved each year if all women had access to optimal cancer care.
This study is a global estimation of the burden of premature, preventable, and treatable deaths from 36 cancer types in 2020 in 185 countries, by world region and Human Development Index (HDI).
"Discussion about cancer in women often focus on 'women's cancers', such as breast and cervical cancer, but about 3,00,000 women under 70 die each year from lung cancer, and 1,60,000 from colorectal cancer: two of the top three causes of cancer death among women, globally.
"Furthermore, for the last few decades in many high income countries, deaths from lung cancer in women have been higher than deaths from breast cancer," said study author Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Branch Head of Cancer Surveillance at IARC.
Greater scrutiny of the causes and risk factors for cancer in women is also needed as they are less well understood compared with cancer risk factors for men, the study said.
Further, it said, growing evidence suggests links between commercial products predominantly used by women, including breast implants, skin lighteners and hair relaxers, and an enhanced cancer risk.
According to a new Lancet Commission report, gender inequality and discrimination influence women's rights and opportunities to avoid cancer risk factors and impede their ability to seek and obtain timely diagnosis and quality cancer care.
Further, gender inequalities have resulted in an unpaid caregiver workforce that is predominantly female, and hinder women's professional advancement as leaders in cancer research, practice, and policymaking, which in turn perpetuate the lack of women-centred cancer prevention and care, the report said.
"The impact of a patriarchal society on women's experiences of cancer has gone largely unrecognised. Globally, women's health is often focused on reproductive and maternal health, aligned with narrow anti-feminist definitions of women's value and roles in society, while cancer remains wholly under-represented," said study author Ophira Ginsburg, co-Chair of the Commission.
"There are important factors specific to women which contribute to this substantial global burden by addressing these through a feminist approach we believe this will reduce the impact of cancer for all," said Verna Vanderpuye, senior consultant at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana, and co-chair of the Commission.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
