Gastrointestinal tract cancer cases on the rise at PGIMER

Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 10

Incidences of gastrointestinal tract-related cancer have seen a huge increase at the PGI and the premier hospital has started new treatment of immunotherapy. The maximum increase of over 63 per cent is in colon cancer cases. Hepatobiliary cancer cases too have seen over 60 per cent rise.

Doctors attribute rise in these cases to changing dietary habits like eating junk food, excessive consumption of alcohol and tobacco and excessive consumption of red meat and fat.

Doctors are worried over the development that most patients approach them when the cancer is in advanced stage.

“In stage 1 cancer, there are more than 90 per cent chances of survival. While those coming to us in stage III or IV have less than five per cent survival rate,” said Dr Rajesh Gupta, Professor, Division of Surgical Gastroenterology, PGI. He said in the initial stage cases, only surgery is done. While in advanced stages, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, along with surgery, are to be done.

“Most of the cancer cases reported at the PGI are at advanced stage unlike the US, the UK and Japan. Thus, in the recently concluded 28th annual conference of the Indian Association of Surgical Gastroenterology also, we shared treatment modalities should be separate in India than west countries,” Dr Gupta said.

Doctors said GIT-related cancer’s symptoms are vague. Abnormal weight loss, appetite loss, lethargy, difficulty in swallowing and bleeding from rectum are among the symptoms. Recently, the PGI has started immunotherapy treatment.

“It is identification of immune check points in a tumour cell that can be blocked by various immunotherapy agents, which can help in controlling progression of that particular type of cancer and decreasing chances of metastasis,” said Dr Rakesh Kapoor, Professor, Department of Radiotherapy.

He, however, said this treatment is recommended for some patients. This entire treatment costs around Rs 3-4 lakh.

“The treatment at present has come down by about 40-50 per cent after the government allowed Indian companies. This treatment otherwise used to cost about Rs 10-20 lakh earlier due to branded drugs to be imported from foreign,” said Dr Kapoor.