In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a delay in diagnosis and treatment of various diseases, including cancer. Today, 27th of July is observed as World Head and Neck Cancer Day every year to raise awareness about the condition in the general public. Did you know India contributes to nearly 60% of head and neck cancer patients worldwide? According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this number is expected to double by 2030. While many different factors are associated with higher risk of head and neck cancer, increasing consumption of tobacco and excessive consumption of alcohol in India is blamed for the rising cases in the country.
Speaking to TheHealthSite on World Head and Neck Cancer Day, Dr. Praveen Garg, Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology, Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, New Delhi, throws light on this link.
Cancers that are known collectively as head and neck cancers (HNCs) usually begin in the squamous cells that line the moist, mucosal surfaces inside the head and neck (for example, inside the mouth, the nose, and the throat). These squamous cell cancers are often referred to as squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.
Head and neck cancers can also begin in the salivary glands, but salivary gland cancers are relatively uncommon. Salivary glands contain many different types of cells that can become cancerous, so there are many different types of salivary gland cancer. Head and neck cancer is typically diagnosed twice as often in men as it is in women at over the age of 50.
Traditionally, the most common risk factors for head and neck cancer are tobacco and alcohol. The common symptoms of head and neck cancers are having trouble swallowing, voice changes, a sore throat, a lump in the neck, or a sore in the mouth that's not healing. Treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.
Alcohol and tobacco use (including smokeless tobacco, sometimes called "chewing tobacco" or "snuff") are the two most important risk factors for head and neck cancers. At least 75% of head and neck cancers are caused by tobacco and alcohol use. People who use both tobacco and alcohol are at greater risk of developing these cancers than people who use either tobacco or alcohol alone. But tobacco and alcohol use are not risk factors for salivary gland cancers.
Tobacco consumption occurs in two ways, either chewing tobacco as smokeless tobacco (container masala, gutka and khaini) or smoking (cigarettes and beedi). Tobacco consumption taking place in any form is extremely addictive because of nicotine and three hundred cancer-causing carcinogens. Chewing tobacco represents a major consumption of tobacco in India, making the head and neck cancer the most commonly reported forms.
Smokeless tobacco is usually a combination of aromatic betel leaves and nuts that the consumer keeps in the mouth and chews on it for quite a long time. When these leaves are chewed continuously for a longer period of time, nicotine is released continuously in the mouth and other flavours that make the mouth produce exorbitant salivation. Users generally end up spitting this out. While consumers are smoking tobacco, nicotine is released in the lungs and influences different organs, tobacco, when chewed, stays in the mouth. Development of tartar can prompt gum sickness and can negatively impact saliva flow in the mouth.
Chewing tobacco contains a minimum of 28 cancer-causing chemicals, medically known as carcinogens. The primary cancer-causing agents in chewing tobacco are the tobacco-explicit nitrosamines (TSNAs). Some of the other cancer-causing agents found in chewing tobacco are formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, arsenic, benzopyrene, nickel, and cadmium. Numerous people erroneously accept that snus is a safe form of chewing tobacco rather than fermented when produced in Norway or Sweden, causing fewer nitrosamines. Nonetheless, snus still contains several cancer-causing chemicals. Snus made in America is not necessarily processed in the same way as in Norway or Sweden.
Researchers and doctors are continuously looking for the factors that cause this type of cancer, including ways to prevent it. Although there is no proven method to avoid cancer, it is very essential to reduce the risk. Several risk factors for oral and oropharyngeal disease can be evaded by making healthy lifestyle choices.
Early signs of head and neck cancers visible on the face include:
To conclude, surgery followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy can be the only treatment for cancer. Certain precautions can be taken to avoid the risk of cancer. This includes quitting smoking and smokeless tobacco products and limiting various other factors which contribute to the risk of disease.
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