Cancers in head and neck rising, account for 26% cases in India: Study
New Delhi (PTI): Around 26 per cent of cancer patients in India have tumours in the head and neck, and there is an upward trend of such cases in the country, a study has found.
The findings of the study, conducted on 1,869 cancer patients across the country, were released on the World Head and Neck Cancer Day observed on Saturday.
Cancer Mukt Bharat Foundation, a Delhi-based non-profit organisation, conducted the study by collating data from calls received on its helpline number from March 1 to June 30.
Dr. Ashish Gupta, a senior oncologist who is heading the Cancer Mukt Bharat Campaign in India, said that India is seeing surge in head and neck cancer cases, especially among young men, due to increased tobacco consumption and human papillomavirus (HPV) infection.
"Around 80-90 pc of oral cancer patients have been found to use tobacco in some form, be it smoking or chewing. Most of the head and neck cancer are preventable, unlike other cancers for which the reason is unknown. It is a preventable cancer that can be prevented with lifestyle modification.
"There is a need to raise awareness to quit tobacco and early check-ups for early pickup of the disease," Gupta said.
In India, nearly two-thirds of cancer cases are detected late likely due to low adoption of proper screening, he said.
Gupta added that the Cancer Mukt Bharat campaign aims to reduce the incidence and impact of cancer on individuals and communities through education and early detection.
"If found early in stages one or two, most head and neck cancers are curable in more than 80 pc of patients. In the field of cancer treatment, we get new medicines almost every week which can treat cancer in better way leading to better outcomes and good quality of life.
"A combination of surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy can be used for treating head and neck cancer. Latest cancer treatment has evolved to prioritize not just curing the disease, but also ensuring a good quality of life for survivors," he said.
Under the Cancer Mukt Bharat Campaign, a free national helpline number (93-555-20202) was launched recently, which is operational from 10 am to 5 pm from Monday to Saturday.
Cancer patients can call on this number to speak to leading oncologists directly or even do a video call to discuss about their treatment without paying any fees.
Head and neck cancer was closely followed by gastrointestinal cancers which was 16 per cent. Fufteen per cent cancers in India re breast cancers and and blood cancers make up 9 per cent of them.
These data are in line with the latest GLOBOCAN data -- a database that gives global cancer statistics -- on India. GLOBOCON data is part of International Agency for Research on Cancer's Global Cancer Observatory.
India is expected to have 2.1 million new cancer cases by 2040, a big jump from the numbers in 2020, as per a recent GLOBOCAN report.
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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.
