Blog on Cancer Detection & Screening

Often the attention is on "bad" LDL Cholesterol to ensure that it's level is below 100 mg/dL in order to reduce the risk of heart attack. But there is another Cholesterol particle called Lipoprotein(a) or Lp(a) which is more dangerous and is a genetic risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is stickier and more prone to cause plaque buildup in arteries.

Therefore, it is necessary for every person with family history of heart disease to conduct a one-time test for Lp(a). Normal LP(a) levels are typically less than 30 mg/dL. Elevated levels, particularly above 50 mg/dL, suggest an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. Lp(a) cannot be controlled through modification in diet or lifestyle. Hence regular precautions have to more strictly implemented LDL cholesterol control using statins or PCSK9 inhibitors, smoking cessation, maintaining a heart-healthy diet, regular exercise and screening family members. 

Scientists at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) have found that good oral hygiene has a role in preventing head & neck cancers as well as cancers of digestive tract, prostrate, breast, pancreas, uterus and lungs.

Brushing teeth daily and annual visits to dentist for checkup and cleaning do help in reducing cancer risk. Instances of gum bleeding and gum disease should not be left untreated. 

In rural India, over 80% of cancer cases are detected in Stages 3 and 4, due to which success rates are lower in combating cancer. The country has over 9 Lakhs Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), whose mandate is to create health awareness and mobilize the community towards healthy living. 

ASHA workers can play a helpful role in early detection and awareness of cancer in villages, by ensuring that villagers attend screening camps organised by NGOs in rural areas. Since ASHA workers are women, particularly they will be able to interact better with rural women and convince them to attend the camps, since otherwise the latter may be hesitant to get tested for breast and cervical cancers.

National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5 report for the period of 2019–2021 was published in 2022. This report also covered the status of cancer screening in India. 

The findings of this report are truly alarming! Less than 2% of women have undergone cervical cancer screening. Less than 1% women have screened for best and oral cancers. About 1.2% of men have participated in oral cavity screening.

These abysmal figures pertain to cancers which claim lakhs of lives every year in India. It is high time for everyone to become aware of the risk involved and go in for regular cancer screening, to enable which on our portal cancerscreening.in we have provided complete details of cancer screening opportunities in cities, towns and rural areas of India.

The most common cancers occurring in any country are the obvious candidates for screening the population in that country. In India, the consensus is to screen for breast, cervical, oral and colon cancers. As against this, in US cancers routinely screened are breast, cervical, colon and lungs.

In the year 2016, Government of India launched a national cancer screening programme under the ‘National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke’ (NPCDCS). It was stipulated that to begin with there will be mandatory screening for oral, breast, and cervical cancer in people over the age of 30 in 100 districts of India. 

Due to infrastructural constraints and lack of sufficient numbers of trained manpower, the programme achieved limited progress over the subsequent years. To overcome the systemic deficiencies simpler procedures were resorted viz. clinical breast examination for breast cancer, oral cavity examination to detect oral and lip cancer and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) screening for cervical cancer. However, the screening programme was suspended when the Covid-19 pandemic struck and till date has not been revived. 

As per Globocan 2018, India had 1,157,294 cancer cases with more than one-third being oral, breast and cervical cancer cases. Out of these, lip and oral cavity cancer cases numbered 119,992, breast cancer cases were 162,468 and cervix uteri cancers accounted for 96,922.  About 75% of cases are detected at stages 3-4.

Figures stated above indicate gravity of the situation. Hence, the national screening programme needs to be strengthened to tackle the menace in an effective manner.