Ahead of World No Tobacco Day, the clinicians from the city participated in a discussion organized by Neuberg Diagnostics to share insights on tobacco’s ill effects. Experts shared that lung and mouth cancers have become the top two cancer sites in males, however, the rising number of incidences in women has become a cause of concern as lung cancer is the fourth most prominent cancer site in women too.
According to experts, weight loss, sputum production, cough, and coughing blood are some of the prominent early symptoms of lung cancer. Consuming cigarettes, tobacco chewing, hookah, betel leaf with tobacco, reverse smoking, household, and traffic pollutants, are the main causes of lung cancer, apart from occupational factors such as working in industries, mining sector, etc.
The experts noted that in North India the estimated daily lung and oral cancer per 100,000 people is around 250 and 130 respectively, which is the highest burden in the country. In India, shockingly, the rate of tobacco consumption has increased in people in adolescence, which is also an important reason for the prevalence of lung cancer. Cigarette smoking in childhood and adolescence plays a role in developing lung cancer by contributing to the duration of smoking and lifetime exposure to smoking-related carcinogens and may serve as an independent risk factor for lung cancer.
Consumption of tobacco not only has an ill effect on the person who is consuming it but also on their families as a passive smoker has a chance of contracting cancer too. Doctors requested everyone to stop consuming tobacco immediately and it will improve not only the quality of their life but also the people around them.Dr. Sumant Gupta, Medical Oncologist, Metro Hospital, Faridabad said “Most of the times lung cancer is mistaken for tuberculosis in the earlier stages as the symptoms of both the diseases are very similar.
In both the cases, a patient experiences coughing and or coughing up blood. “50% of the lung cancer patients die in the first-year post-diagnosis. We can ensure a 14% to 20% decrease in deaths if the cancer is detected at the earlier stages. However, early symptoms are less visible, hence it is difficult to detect lung cancer at early stages.”He further added, Integrated and multidisciplinary care for cancer patients by surgical, medical, molecular pathologist and genetic counselor can effectively manage these patients. Targeted therapy has emerged as an important method to treat cancer.
Dr. Amrita Singh, Chief of Lab Services, Neuberg Diagnostics, Delhi said “Targeted therapies act on specific molecular targets associated with cancer, whereas most standard chemotherapies act on all rapidly dividing normal and cancerous cells, which also kill normal cells. Targeted therapy is known to cause lesser side effects as compared to chemotherapy while improving the quality of life of patients.”
She further added, “Cancer is caused by specific changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide. Genes carry the instructions to make proteins, which do much of the work in our cells. There is a new advancement in diagnostic of cancer, such as genomic testing which further help experts to plan personalized targeted therapies to the patients for better outcomes.”The experts highlighted prevention is better than cure and urged all society members to stop consuming tobacco in any form immediately and lead a healthy life.
About Neuberg Diagnostics:
Best-in-class laboratories across India, USA, UAE & South Africa have united under the banner of Neuberg Diagnostics, to bring the latest technology and techniques within the reach of developing countries. Utilizing their combined strengths, the Neuberg brings capabilities to perform over 6000 varieties of Pathological investigations and promotes Prevention & Early Diagnosis, Focused Wellness Programs and Structured Disease Management programs for rare diseases using the most advanced technologies assisted by Data science and AI tools.
Today, Neuberg Diagnostics is among the top diagnostics companies of Indian origin and the fastest growing healthcare start-up in India. The founding members of the Neuberg Diagnostics - Anand Diagnostic Laboratory (Bangalore), SupratechMicropath (Ahmedabad), Ehrlich Laboratory (Chennai), Global Labs (South Africa), and Minerva Diagnostics (Dubai) bring their combined heritage of over 200 years, and process over 30 million tests annually. Some of the best Pathologists, Biochemists, Geneticists, Microbiologists and several other Clinical Lab Professionals from around the world are working closely, sharing knowledge and using the latest generation of diagnostics techniques to take accurate and timely diagnosis to the next level.
Apart from the coming together of leading players, green field laboratories have been established in Delhi NCR, West Bengal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Currently the group has 130+ labs and over 1000 touch points across 4 countries. Our Indian Expansion plans include setting up a network of 500 collection centers across the country within the next 12 months. Our Overseas expansion plans include establishing a presence in East Africa, West Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, USA and Germany.Neuberg also provides Hospital Laboratory Management Services, Preventive Health Checks, Corporate Wellness, Home Health Services and Drive through Phlebotomy Services.