A study on  rate of occurrence of cervical cancer in Kolkata has showed that there has  been a definite  decrease in its rate – very gratifying for the centre of biotechnology which has been funding this study.

Team@CMHF

In a study conducted in KOLKATA: The number of patients suffering from cervical cancer – the second-most common form of the disease in women behind breast cancer – has dwindled marginally in Bengal. Improvements in living standards and better personal hygiene might have contributed to it, though the state still has 26,000 cervical patients and more than 50,000 in the pre-cancerous stage, says a survey funded by the central government. More than 80% of the affected women hails from rural areas.

The rate of occurrence in the state has dropped from 32 per lakh to 27 over the last decade, disclosed a pilot project on “Screening and Management of Cervical Cancer in Rural Poor Women”.

The study was carried out on 6,000 women in Burdwan. It showed that even though awareness was low, there has been a marginal drop in the number of both affected women and those in the pre-cancerous stage.

“This could be attributed to a rise in general living standards and better living conditions. Personal hygiene, remains poor. But with improvement in living standards, hygiene, too, has improved marginally. This is a good sign, but unless we can address other factors that lead to the disease, things will remain static,” said oncologist Chinmay Bose, who led the study.

Apart from poor hygiene, multiple partners, child birth and irregular lifestyle are believed to be responsible for triggering the disease. Regular screening and early detection are the only accepted method of keeping cervical cancer in check. The HPV vaccine that had been used to prevent the disease in some parts of the country, including Bengal, fell through after several deaths were reported.

The study recommends a wider screening programme, covering all districts, towns and cities. “Detection at the pre-cancerous stage is very important. There are thousands of patients who could be identified through a method called colposcopy. It will help to curb cervical cancer in a big way,” said Bose.

This was a golden opportunity to go all-out and launch an eradication attempt, experts believed. “USA has managed to reduce the rate of occurrence to just 8 per lakh from around 30. We need a concerted effort, involving an awareness-cum-screening programme. If we don’t we will lose a chance to curb the disease,” said Ashish Mulhopadhyay, oncologist.

Ref:  https://mail.google.com/mail/?shva=1#inbox/134a16f67eef70a5