• Thursday, March 28, 2024
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BusinessDay

Concerns as research lists Nigeria among countries where 70% of cancer deaths occur

The apprehension and concerns which cancer as a deadly disease elicits heightened recently over a revelation that 70 percent of cancer deaths occur in developing countries like Nigeria due to late detection.

The research, which was conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), says that globally over 18 million people develop cancer yearly with 9.6 million deaths. It says further that daily basis, Nigeria records 32 deaths from breast cancer.

The revelation which was contained in a statement BusinessDay obtained from Mission PinkCruise Team in Lagos at the weekend says latest World Health Organisatoion (WHO) data shows that, globally, there were over two million new cases of breast cancer and over 600,000 deaths from the disease in 2018.

Another startling revelation from the statement is that breast cancer also occurs in men, but it is 100 times more common in women.

But Abia Nzelu, a medical doctor working with Mission PinkCruise Team, notes that, because most people are not aware that breast cancer can occur in men, the disease tends to be picked up much later and is often more fatal in men than in women.

“As we mark the October Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is necessary to look at an aspect of the disease of which most people are unaware – the relationship between breast cancer and oral hygiene,” Nzelu said, listing the better known risk factors for breast cancer as female gender, increasing age, family history of breast cancer, early onset of menses, late menopause, etc,

“However, scientific research has recently demonstrated a link between breast cancer and oral health. Women with poor oral hygiene and periodontitis (inflammation of the gum) are up to three times more likely to develop breast cancer. The risk is greater in smoker,” he said.

Nzelu explained that poor dental hygiene and gum disease had also been linked to increased risk of other cancers, including prostate cancer, throat cancer, lung cancer, gall bladder cancer, melanoma and pancreatic cancer.

He noted that several general health conditions such as pneumonia, stroke, heart disease, problem pregnancy and Diabetes mellitus are also linked to poor dental hygiene.

“The prevention and early diagnosis of periodontitis are, therefore, very important not only for the patients’ oral health, but also for their overall wellbeing.

“Periodontitis is a serious bacterial infection of the gum that damages the soft tissue and destroys the bone that supports the teeth. In the early stages, it often presents as bleeding or swollen or painful gums (gingivitis) and sometimes as halitosis also known as bad breath,” he said.

The main causes of periodontal disease, he explained, were poor oral hygiene and tobacco use. “The bacteria most often associated with periodontitis (Treponemadenticola and Porphyromonasgingivalis) enter the bloodstream through the gum,” he said.

He explained further that the bacterial infections become associated with co-infection by viruses such as Epstein-Barr virus and Cytomegalovirus which act together with the bacteria to suppress the body’s immune response, leading to a proliferation of cancer cells in the body.

 

CHUKA UROKO