Radiation, chemical exposure can cause blood cancer
India is on the brink of a rapidly growing cancer epidemic. The Country’s cancer burden will nearly double in the next 20 years. A recent report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) reveals that one in 10 Indians will develop cancer and one in 15 will die of the disease of those who are diagnosed with it. The World Cancer Report says that India had an estimated 1.16 million new cancer cases and 7,84,800 cancer deaths in 2018 and 2.26 million five-year prevalent cases in a population of 1.35 billion.
According to a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), it stated that India has the third-highest blood cancer cases after the US and China. A rapid rise in the number of cancer cases is imposing a serious public health concern for public health administrators. With such growing numbers the country needs a holistic health structure such as cancer registration and statistics, affordable healthcare in rural areas, education, and awareness about blood cancer.
Blood cancer and its types
Blood cancer affects the blood cells and bone marrow. Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones where the blood cells are made. Blood cancer occurs when abnormal blood cells have an unusual growth and interrupt the functioning of the normal blood cells.
The three main types of blood cancer are leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma:
Leukemia is a cancer of a blood or bone marrow. It occurs when the body produces an abnormal quantity of white blood cells. There are two types of leukemia – acute and chronic.
Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, which is the body’s disease-fighting network. It affects lymphocytes (part of white blood cells) and the body’s lymph system, which is a part of the immune system that helps fight infections and some other diseases.
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that develops from the plasma cells. Plasma cells are part of the immune system that makes antibodies respond to the infections in the body.
The growing number of hematological cancer cases is not only common among adults, but even the children are not free of the pain of blood cancer.
There are two types of blood cancers that are common among children, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
Signs and symptoms of blood cancer:
- Persistent weakness, fatigue, and dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Cough and cold
- Recurrent fever or infections
- Loss of appetite
- Itchy skin
- Bleeding gums
- Weight loss
- Swollen lymph
- Frequent vomiting sensations
- Body sweat at night.
- Bone pain, back pain, and abdominal pain
- Difficulty while urinating
Leukemia is the most common type of blood cancer among children, adolescents, and younger adults under 20 years of age. It is appalling that today’s children are more susceptible to blood cancer at their tender age.
Dr. Vasudeva Bhat, Paediatric Oncologist at KMC Manipal explained to me that nowadays children are exposed to a lot of antigens that could be in the form of exposure to radiation or contact of pesticides, or adulterated water. When these antigens come into the contact of lymphocytes in the body from where the cancer cell originates then the cell in the lymphocytes starts to mutate and leads to cancer in a few children.
Our body has two types of lymphocytes, B-cells that make antibodies and attack bacteria, viruses, and toxins while the other are T-cells that help to kill infected or cancerous cells.
When the body’s protected mechanism fails to remove a cancerous cell then such a child or an adult is susceptible to blood cancer.
“Children are prone to cancer in the age group of four to nine years. Generally, most of the blood cancers are curable in children. Acute Lymphoblast Leukaemia (ALL) is common in children and it has a high cure rate while Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) is the most common among older children.
Fever is the most common symptom of blood cancer so it is not easy to use it as a distinguishing marker of cancer. Hence, in some cases, cancer isn’t detected until it is quite serious. Early diagnosis is crucial for a person.”
Is there any specific cause for blood cancer?
“Today the 70-80 percent elevation in cancer cases are attributable to the dreadful environmental conditions we encounter.
There are some particular regions in the country where cancer is more prevalent – especially a few states of eastern India, which accounts for one-third of the country’s cancer burden. One of the reasons could be the staple diet followed in these states. Some studies revealed that accumulation of heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and, etc., have been found in the edible cultivated fish. Certainly, these hazardous heavy metals are a threat to the aquatic ecosystem and eventually to human beings as well, through the food chain.
Although the specific cause of blood cancer is unknown, a number of factors are associated with its onset. Some causes are exposure to heavy factory smoke and exposure to dangerous chemicals like benzene. Breathing toxic air makes people more vulnerable to blood cancer.
Exposure to radiation can destroy DNA and can cause blood cancer. The most alarming incident was the atomic bomb blast at Japan’s Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. The aftereffects of radiation exposure caused a surge in leukemia risks among the bomb blast survivors and resulted in blood cancer among many people.”
Is blood cancer curable?
“Usually, blood cancer has a high cure rate, and it also depends on which type of blood cancer a person has. It is not necessary that all the types of blood cancer are curable, but specifically, childhood cancers have the maximum chance for a cure. The treatment consists of two and a half years of therapy. There are radiotherapy and chemotherapy. For blood cancers, very few require radiotherapy, but all need chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is given to kill the cancer cells but in the bargain, it can kill the normal cells leading to side-effects. We always need to check the risk vs. benefit. If therapy is not given, there is a higher risk of disease not getting controlled and disease relapsing.”
“Moreover, if the treatment and correct doses are given on time then there is no major toxicity or side-effects of cancer, so the chances of cure are very good. However, if there are any infections in a course of treatment then there are chances that cancer may relapse. Hence, it is highly important to take care of personal hygiene, proper intake of food, and treatment should be on time.”
How successful is bone marrow transplant treatment? Why does cancer relapse even after the bone marrow transplant?
“Bone marrow transplant is needed only in a few subsets of patients especially in those ones where cancer has relapsed. In such a scenario in these high-risk diseases, there is a possibility of disease recurrence or transplant-related mortality in these patients.”
Is immunotherapy also a viable option to cure blood cancer?
“It is an upcoming therapy for the treatment of cancer. As of now, it is expensive and approved only for a few cancers. It is predicted that in a few years’ time, immunotherapy may takeover chemotherapy.”
How do you see the rise of blood cancer cases – which is affected more? The rural or urban areas?
“Unless there are some strict restrictions on the use of pesticides, tobacco, and, etc., I believe the number will surge unexpectedly in the coming years.”
We see most of the blood cancer cases come from rural areas. Generally, infections are also seen in people from rural areas because they may not be practicing food, water, and personal hygiene because, in comparison, infections are less among well-to-do urban families. That is the inference.
What types of food should people avoid that may cause cancer?
“We recommend people to avoid eating foodstuff that may cause cancer such as processed food, junk food, foods that contain preservatives and artificial synthetic colors, tobacco and aerated soft drinks. Fast food meals should be substituted with home-cooked food for better nutritional values. People should also wash fruits and vegetables prior to eating to prevent pesticide exposure into their diet.”
In many regions, poultry is given several antibiotics and steroids for quicker growth. Can that be a hazard insofar as Cancer is concerned?
“It is estimated that 80 percent of the poultry are given steroids and antibiotics to keep them healthy and it is very rampant across the world. Eating poultry with drug traces can make the body flora antibiotic-resistant. These antibiotics are used to treat certain fatal illnesses like pneumonia and tuberculosis (TB). If the flora of the body becomes resistant to certain antibiotics then it becomes difficult to cure such particular ailments. There is no concrete scientific evidence that proves that steroid laden poultry animals lead to cancer. However, inappropriate elements in a diet can be a possible cause of cancer.”
