Dhaka, Feb 3, 2025
One hundred and six people out of 100,000 people in Bangladesh suffer from cancer, with the disease currently causing 12 per cent of the total deaths in the country, said a Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) study report released here.
“Thirty eight types of cancer have been identified in Bangladesh while most of the cases have been found to be of breast, mouth, stomach, respiratory tract, and cervical cancer,” BSMMU public health and informatics department’s principal researcher and associate professor Dr Md Khalequzzaman said.
National news agency Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) quoted Dr Khalequzzaman as saying that the country witnesses a growing number of cancer cases with the detection of 53 patients among a population of 100,000 every year.
The report was revealed at a seminar titled ‘Burden of Cancer in Bangladesh: Population-Based Cancer Registry’ at the BSMMU’s Super Specialised Hospital. BSMMU conducted the study on the overall situation of population-based cancer in the country.
Dr Khalequzzaman said 93 per cent of cancer patients are aged between 18 and 75 years, 2.4 per cent are children and 5.1 per cent are over 75 years of age.
The study was carried out among 201,668 participants from 46,631 households, with 48.4 per cent being male and 51.6 per cent female.
The study was launched in July 2023 on 200,000 people while the data was collected through interviews using specially developed Internet-based cancer registration software. The team follow-up visits began in July 2024 on completion of the study.
Among female cancer patients, 19 per cent of the cases were related to the reproductive system, including 11 per cent cervical cancer, 5 per cent ovarian cancer, and 3 per cent uterine cancer, Xinhua news agency reported.
The study found 60.6 per cent of female cancer patients are smokeless tobacco users, while 46 per cent of patients have a relationship with e-tobacco consumption, 60 per cent of cancer patients received combined treatment and 7.4 per cent of patients received no treatment.
On the other hand, 75.8 per cent of male cancer patients were smokers, while 46 per cent of them did not intake tobacco.
It found 60 per cent of cancer patients received multiple treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, while 7.4 per cent of patients received no treatment after diagnosis.
According to the study, other co-morbidities among cancer patients included hypertension, which accounted for 17 per cent of cases, diabetes for 11 per cent, heart disease for 6 per cent, chronic kidney disease for 3 per cent, and stroke for 2 per cent.(Agency)
