Kashmir, northeast worst affected by food pipe cancer

Cancer of the oesophagus - or what is commonly called food pipe - has been detected as the third most common cancer in India, with people from the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir found to be the highest affected by the disease, said experts Tuesday.

Cancer of the oesophagus - the tube in the throat that carries food and liquid to the stomach - is known to be a very morbid condition which affects the upper digestive tract of the human body.

"As per the Indian Council of Medical Research, every 8-10 people per 1 lakh population suffer from the cancer of oesophagus. The figures are even higher for northeast India," Bhushan Bhole of the Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute (PSRI) told IANS.

Jammu and Kashmir and the northeastern states of India also fall under the Asian belt of oesophagus cancer together with China, primarily due to the cold weather conditions and increased consumption of smoked meat.

"There is a place in Mizoram, where 25-26 people per one lakh population suffer from the cancer of oesophagus," added Bhole, and added that for easier treatment and faster recovery, the doctors at PSRI have been conducting the surgery with minimal incisions (laparoscopic surgery) and creating awareness about the growing disease.

"The new surgery with minimal incisions is better than the open surgery, as it entails less blood loss, lesser hospital stay for the patients who are especially elderly in the age of 55-60 years," said Sanjay Chaurey, a laparoscopy consultant at PSRI.

The open surgery undertaken earlier would involve the opening of the abdomen, the chest and the neck for the treatment of oesophagus.

"Recurrence of acidity for a few weeks and difficulty in swallowing are the main symptoms to the cancer of oesophagus," added Chaurey.