Dropout from treatment, lack of nutrition lower cure rate of paediatric cancer

As opposed to an 80 per cent cure rate for paediatric cancer in western countries, the five-year survival rate is only around 60 per cent in Puducherry, according to data available with the Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research (JIPMER) in-hospital registry.

“One of the main reasons for this is the prolonged treatment required, especially in the case of acute leukaemia, where the treatment takes around two years,” said Biswajit Dubashi, assistant professor of medical oncology, JIPMER.

Since the treatment takes time, parents of children diagnosed with cancer tend to be irregular in bringing them for treatment or even drop out. JIPMER’s registry sees an approximate 10 per cent dropout rate. “With the introduction of the medical social worker, however, the numbers have improved. Unless the treatment is taken regularly, the chances of survival are poor,” he says.

“The other major reason for poor survival rate is nutrition. In India, children tend to have poor nutrition. In order to be able to tolerate chemotherapy drugs, it is important that the children are given nutritious food,” he emphasises.

Also, in many cases, the children with cancer are brought to the hospital with advanced stages of cancer, which makes treatment difficult, adds Dr. Dubashi.

The most common form of cancer found in children in the region is acute leukaemia, followed by lymphoma, brain cancer, neuroblastoma, bone cancer and kidney cancer. The five-year survival rate (calculated from end of the treatment period) depends on the kind of cancer. Lymphoma, for example, has a 70 per cent cure rate, he notes.

Every year, JIPMER sees around 125 new patients with paediatric cancer. Of these, around 40 have leukaemia. In order to raise awareness on paediatric cancer, JIPMER conducted a rally on Beach Road on Sunday morning. The rally started at the Dupleix statue and concluded at the Kargil war memorial. Over 100 people participated in the rally, including some of the paediatric cancer patients.