Staff Reporter :
The cancer scenario in Bangladesh is gradually improving as all possible steps are being taken to curtail this killer disease, said Dr. Md. Moarraf Hossen, Director of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH).
He said the country has “accepted reduction of cancer morbidity and mortality targets set by the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a part of global non-communicable disease prevention agreement”. Meanwhile, WHO also recognized cancer as a number one global killer disease.
Speaking at a seminar in the city on Monday, Dr. Moarraf said the ‘Plan of Action in Cancer Care of 2009-2015’, formulated with the assistance of WHO with an objective to develop and implement “continuum of cancer” care through a comprehensive cancer control programme, has been found very fruitful in the country.
The NICRH director said that cancer diagnosis facilities have improved significantly in the past decade. Modern imaging techniques like CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are available at
different districts both at government and private levels. Tissue diagnosis by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and histopathology is now possible at divisional headquarters. Currently, we do not need to go abroad to get better cancer care, he opined.
Dr. Moarraf said people are now becoming more conscious about the cancer care as they are less inclined to spend money in foreign countries to get treatment. This public awareness has to be raised more in the national level so that we develop confidence on our local oncologists, he added.
NICRH, he said, caters to the maximum load of cancer treatment and also contributes to the field of teaching and research. This institute is currently functioning with 150-bed capacity equipped with three dual-energy linear accelerators and two cobalt 60 machines, high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and standard support equipment. Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Gynaecological Oncology departments are functioning in this centre since 1992.
He added that this government hospital is unique for catering to the cancer care needs of the poor people. All the standard facilities required for diagnosis and treatment of cancer with a multidisciplinary approach are available in this centre.
When asked about the high cost of chemotherapy drugs which are not within the range of our common people, Moarraf told this correspondent that at present most of the chemotherapy drugs, including common monoclonal antibodies, required for the treatment of cancer are available in the country. Two local pharmaceutical companies — Beacon Pharmaceuticals Limited and Techno Drugs Ltd — are manufacturing the chemotherapy drugs and have brought the cost of chemotherapy within the reach of common people.
Besides, few more private centres are also providing integrated cancer care facilities. These private centres are providing modern cancer treatment facilities, including therapy, to a huge number of patients to receive therapy. Whereas in the past, they had to travel abroad for better cancer care, he said.
Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also involved in cancer care. They include Ahsania Mission, Cancer Society, Ashic Foundation, Digonta Memorial, and Mosabbir Cancer Centre. They are contributing to the treatment of cancer with their own initiatives.
Sources said, there are more than 15 lakh cancer patients in the country, with about two lakh patients newly diagnosed with cancer each year. As an overview, lung cancer and mouth-oropharynx cancer rank as the top two prevalent cancers in males. Other types of cancers are esophagus cancer and stomach cancer. In women, cancer cervix uteri and breast cancer are most prevalent. Other cancer types, which affect women, are mouth and oropharynx cancer, lung cancer, and esophagus cancer.
The NICRH director said that there are around 150 qualified clinical oncologists and 16 pediatric oncologists working in the different parts of the country. Regular cancer treatment is available in 19 hospitals and 465 hospital beds are attached as indoor or day care facilities for chemotherapy in the oncology/radiotherapy departments. Approximately, 56 cancer chemotherapeutic agents are obtainable.
Improving the cancer scenario overnight is not an easy task but policy makers may become interested and push this agenda forward, if the huge health impact and economic loss caused by cancer become evident to them, he said.
The cancer scenario in Bangladesh is gradually improving as all possible steps are being taken to curtail this killer disease, said Dr. Md. Moarraf Hossen, Director of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH).
He said the country has “accepted reduction of cancer morbidity and mortality targets set by the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) as a part of global non-communicable disease prevention agreement”. Meanwhile, WHO also recognized cancer as a number one global killer disease.
Speaking at a seminar in the city on Monday, Dr. Moarraf said the ‘Plan of Action in Cancer Care of 2009-2015’, formulated with the assistance of WHO with an objective to develop and implement “continuum of cancer” care through a comprehensive cancer control programme, has been found very fruitful in the country.
The NICRH director said that cancer diagnosis facilities have improved significantly in the past decade. Modern imaging techniques like CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are available at
different districts both at government and private levels. Tissue diagnosis by fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) and histopathology is now possible at divisional headquarters. Currently, we do not need to go abroad to get better cancer care, he opined.
Dr. Moarraf said people are now becoming more conscious about the cancer care as they are less inclined to spend money in foreign countries to get treatment. This public awareness has to be raised more in the national level so that we develop confidence on our local oncologists, he added.
NICRH, he said, caters to the maximum load of cancer treatment and also contributes to the field of teaching and research. This institute is currently functioning with 150-bed capacity equipped with three dual-energy linear accelerators and two cobalt 60 machines, high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy, and standard support equipment. Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Gynaecological Oncology departments are functioning in this centre since 1992.
He added that this government hospital is unique for catering to the cancer care needs of the poor people. All the standard facilities required for diagnosis and treatment of cancer with a multidisciplinary approach are available in this centre.
When asked about the high cost of chemotherapy drugs which are not within the range of our common people, Moarraf told this correspondent that at present most of the chemotherapy drugs, including common monoclonal antibodies, required for the treatment of cancer are available in the country. Two local pharmaceutical companies — Beacon Pharmaceuticals Limited and Techno Drugs Ltd — are manufacturing the chemotherapy drugs and have brought the cost of chemotherapy within the reach of common people.
Besides, few more private centres are also providing integrated cancer care facilities. These private centres are providing modern cancer treatment facilities, including therapy, to a huge number of patients to receive therapy. Whereas in the past, they had to travel abroad for better cancer care, he said.
Some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also involved in cancer care. They include Ahsania Mission, Cancer Society, Ashic Foundation, Digonta Memorial, and Mosabbir Cancer Centre. They are contributing to the treatment of cancer with their own initiatives.
Sources said, there are more than 15 lakh cancer patients in the country, with about two lakh patients newly diagnosed with cancer each year. As an overview, lung cancer and mouth-oropharynx cancer rank as the top two prevalent cancers in males. Other types of cancers are esophagus cancer and stomach cancer. In women, cancer cervix uteri and breast cancer are most prevalent. Other cancer types, which affect women, are mouth and oropharynx cancer, lung cancer, and esophagus cancer.
The NICRH director said that there are around 150 qualified clinical oncologists and 16 pediatric oncologists working in the different parts of the country. Regular cancer treatment is available in 19 hospitals and 465 hospital beds are attached as indoor or day care facilities for chemotherapy in the oncology/radiotherapy departments. Approximately, 56 cancer chemotherapeutic agents are obtainable.
Improving the cancer scenario overnight is not an easy task but policy makers may become interested and push this agenda forward, if the huge health impact and economic loss caused by cancer become evident to them, he said.
