Lung, larynx, stomach cancers deadliest, 46pc of all cancers tied to tobacco, govt mulls tax waiver on cancer drugs
Cancer is responsible for 11.9 per cent of total annual deaths in the country, a study by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University revealed on Saturday.
Cancer related to lung, larynx and stomach are three most deadly cancer causing death, the study has found.
The study also found that 46 per cent of all cancers were related to tobacco consumption both in smoking and smokeless manner.
The university鈥檚 Department of Public Health and Informatics during the study period identified 38 types of cancer in the country.
According to the study report unveiled at an event in the capital, the five types of most prevalent cancers in the country are breast cancer 16.8 per cent; lip and oral cavity cancer 8.4 per cent; stomach 7.0 per cent; larynx 7.0 per cent (laryngeal cancer); and cervix 5.1 per cent.
The study reports cancer prevalence of 106 cases per 100,000 people, with 118 cases per 100,000 among males, and 96 cases per 100,000 among females.
The report also mentions that every year 53 new cancer patients per 100,000 people are added to the old cancer patients.
Public health and informatics department associate professor Md Khalequzzaman, also the principal investigator of the study titled 鈥楥ancer burden in Bangladesh: evidence from a population-based cancer registry,鈥� presented the findings at the event held at BSMMU Super Specialised Hospital.
The study was conducted in Hossainpur upazila of Kishoreganj with data collection beginning in July 2023 through in-person interview combined with a 鈥榥ational cancer registry software鈥�.
According to the findings, in males, laryngeal cancer is the most prevalent with 13.0 per cent followed by stomach 10.4 per cent; lungs 8.7 per cent; lip and oral cavity 7.0 per cent; and oesophagus (the聽tube-like body part聽that carries food聽from the聽mouth聽to the聽stomach) 6.1 per cent.
In females, breast cancer is the most common cancer with 36.4 per cent followed by cervical cancer 11.1 per cent; lip and oral cavity cancer 10.1 per cent; thyroid 7.1 per cent; and ovaries 5.1 per cent.
According to the findings, during the follow-up period of the study, among the new cancer patients three types of cancer were mostly found鈥攍ung cancer, liver and laryngeal cancer.
Among newly added male cancer patients lung, liver and laryngeal cancer were mostly found, while among newly added female patients liver, cervical and oesophageal cancers were mostly identified.
Comorbidity for cancer patients were found in the study is mostly hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and stroke.
In the baseline phase, 75.8 per cent of the male cancer patients were found as smokers, while smokeless tobacco was consumed by 40.5 per cent males and 60.6 per cent females.
The study found total 214 cancer patients in the baseline phase among 201,668 respondents. Of these patients, 92.5 per cent were aged between 18 and 75 years, while 2.4 per cent were below 18 years, and 5.1 per cent were over 75 years old.
Regarding medical treatment, 60 per cent patients received a combination of treatment modalities, including surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while 7.4 per cent of the patients did not receive any treatment after cancer diagnosis.
Under the study, in the baseline investigation phase, 201,668 respondents from 46,631 households participated in the study with 48.4 per cent being male and 51.6 per cent female. A follow-up, conducted from July 1, 2024 to January 14, 2025, covered 58,539 participants from 3,411 households.
Cancer treatment was one of the costliest treatments in which a large number of patients had gone abroad for treatment, said special assistant to the ministry of health and family welfare Professor Md Sayedur Rahman.
The government was planning for tax waiver on cancer drugs that would result in reduction of 10 per cent of their prices.
BSMMU vice-chancellor Professor Md Shahinul Alam chaired the event, also addressed, among others, by Directorate General of Health Services officials and university faculties and public health experts.
