Experts warn of new threats of cancer at international moot

Top of the line oncologists from different parts of the world on Saturday declared cancer as the second leading cause of deaths in the world, saying cancer had been responsible for an estimated 9.6 million deaths last year.

They said that globally, about one in six deaths was caused due to cancer and, most importantly, over 70 per cent of deaths due to cancer had been found in low- and middle-income countries. Tobacco was again declared the most important risk factor for cancer and is responsible for approximately 22 per cent of cancer deaths.

They were speaking at a three-day international conference currently in progress at the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT), which has been jointly organised by the SIUT and the American Society of Oncology (ASCO).

The international moon with the theme “What is new in oncology”, is being attended by experts from within the country and abroad.

The experts showed their concern over the causes of cancer and its types, including cancers of blood, lung, esophagus, gastric, kidney, bladder, colon and rectum. They highlighted that tobacco use caused 85 per cent carcinogens.

Experts representing the SIUT, including Dr Narjis Muzaffar, Dr Najeeb Niamatullah, Dr Afshan Asghar, said that cancer diseases had been treated by the SIUT since 1989, but due to the increasing volume of cancer diseases, the institute responded by opening a dedicated oncology centre with the vision of providing free full-fledged comprehensive cancer treatment for the public.

The centre has been treating urological tumors and is also treating non-urological cancers, including breast, head and neck and some blood cancers, if they are at early stage.

Dr Frederick Smith from the USA discussing the management of breast cancer said that it was a chronic disease and women diagnosed with breast cancer were now living longer due to the new treatment options.

Giving a lecture on post-transplant cancer, Dr Muzaffar Qaziblash from the USA, said post-transplant patients due to the suppression of their immune system developed different types of cancer, which were mainly driven by virus and could be managed by chemotherapy and targeted therapy.

Highlighting the prevalence of prostate cancer, Dr Badar Mian from the USA, said this ailment was a common disease especially in elderly population, but not everybody needed treatment and only those patients who had aggressive disease needed to be treated.

Dr Pervaiz Rahman, Dr Khalid Matin and Dr Saima Sharif, the visiting cancer specialist from the US, discussed testicular cancer, gastric cancer and colo-rectal cancer respectively. They were of the opinion that incidence of cancer was increasing partly due to change in lifestyle, but surgery, chemotherapy and new drugs promised better future and prospect for the disease.