Mouth cancers on the rise in India

BANGALORE: Tobacco and alcohol are important risk factors for oral, head and neck cancers which  are one of the most common cancers in the Indian subcontinent. Although mouth cancers are widely prevalent in India, there is a lack of awareness about the disease. The risk of developing mouth cancer is highest amongst individuals who smoke or chew tobacco, betelnut or gutka. On this oral, head and neck cancer awareness week, starting from May 8th to 14th, city oncologists say, a lot needs to be done to create awareness especially among the youth.Dr S Nirmala, Chief Radiation Oncologist, BGS Global Hospitals says, "These days more and more youth in their twenties are getting affected with malignant conditions due to prolonged chewing of tobacco products and smoking." Even though every school, college and educational institute have notice boards prohibiting the sale of tobacco products, there is a long way to go as the law still needs to be seriously enforced by the authorities concerned.The Population Based Cancer Registries (PBCR) which monitors the frequency of new cancer cases every year by collecting case reports from different sources says, every year four new cases of tongue cancer among males are detected per one lakh population and six cases of mouth cancer among females.Interestingly in Bangalore, seven new cases of mouth cancer are detected among female every year, which according to PBCR estimates is the highest compared to other parts of the country.Dr Kumar Swamy, Consultant, Radiation Oncologist, HCG says, "Avoiding tobacco and other related products is the most important preventive action against mouth, throat cancer."Unlike earlier years, the treatment of the cancer has improved. However, early detection and diagnosis is utmost important for successful treatment.Veena Joshi [email protected]