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Over the past few years, doctors at the the State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) in Bengaluru, have been witness to a promising sign: more girls are now registering for cancer treatment than previously. Increased awareness about cancer and treatment possibilities, especially around February that marks World Cancer Day on the fourth and childhood cancer day on the 15th, has contributed to this, say doctors.
“The sex ratio for cancer registration has improved now compared to previous years when there were gender disparities in cancer treatment for girls. These disparities were due to a number of factors, including social norms, lack of awareness, and financial constraints. Now, there is increased awareness and gender sensitisation,” said Arun Kumar A.R., Professor and Head of the Department of Paediatric Oncology at the institute.
Of the estimated 88,948 new cancer cases detected in Karnataka every year, as many as 975 (1.1%) are children. While 505 of the 975 children are girls, 470 are boys.
“At Kidwai, we see around 700 new registrations in the Department of Paediatric Oncology and over 18,000 follow-up cases every year. Of over 80 patients that we see every day in the out-patient department (OPD), at least three children are new registrations,” said Dr. Kumar.
Pointing out that the institute is working on a comprehensive State childhood cancer management policy, Dr. Kumar said measures are being initiated to ensure every child with suspected cancer or with a diagnosis of cancer has immediate access to paediatric oncology healthcare delivery systems.
The Kidwai Memorial Institute caters to patients not just from Karnataka but also from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, and North-Eastern States. “We have a 14-bed paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) apart from a 14-bed emergency ward, 65-bed general ward and 15-bed day care chemotherapy ward,” Dr. Kumar said.
Understanding childhood cancers
Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. The likelihood of surviving a diagnosis of childhood cancer depends on the country in which the child lives; in high-income countries, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured, but in many LMICs less than 30% are cured.
Although childhood cancer cannot generally be prevented or identified through screening, most types of childhood cancer can be cured with generic medicines and other forms of treatment, including surgery and radiotherapy.
Source: WHO
What are the common childhood cancers?
It is estimated that every year, four lakh children and adolescents develop cancer globally. This amounts to around 1,000 children being diagnosed with cancer every day. The most common categories of childhood cancers include leukemia, brain cancer, lymphoma, and solid tumour, such as neuroblastoma and Wilms tumour.
Currently, although 80% of children with cancer survive long term in developed countries, there are still challenges in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like India. These include delayed diagnosis, hurdles in accessing specialised care, death due to treatment toxicity, treatment abandonment, sub-optimal treatment, and relapse.
“The diagnosis of cancer in a child is the beginning of a demanding journey, which often turns out to be life-changing for the entire family. People should avoid alternative systems of medicine for cancer treatment as it only delays the initiation of proper treatment. Early diagnosis and early intervention is better as it improves the chances of successful treatment and reduces mortality,” the doctor explained.
People should not ignore warning signs such as unusual lumps, unexplained paleness, prolonged unexplained fever, easy bruisability/ bleeding, limping, frequent headaches often with vomiting, loss of appetite over the previous three months, tiredness or fatigue, significant night sweats with no apparent cause, sudden eye or vision changes/white reflex and sudden unexplained weight loss, the doctor added.
Published – February 15, 2025 09:40 pm IST