Trend of Cancer Incidence in Nepal from 2003 to 2012

Burden of tobacco-related cancers in urban, semi-urban and rural setting of Nepal: Findings from population-based cancer registries 2019

BACKGROUND

Nepal is one of the high prevalent countries for tobacco use in Southeast Asia regions. Tobacco related cancer share the major burden since a decade, however, population-based estimates is still lacking. This study provides results from population-based cancer registries on tobacco-related cancer (TRCs) burden in Nepal.

METHODS

The data were collected by population-based cancer registry conducted in nine districts by Nepal Health Research Council. The districts were categorized in urban, semi-urban and rural regions on the basis of geographical locations and facilities available in the regions. Analysis was done to identify tobacco-associated cancer incidence, mortality and patterns along with cumulative risk of having cancer before the age of 75 years.

RESULTS

Tobacco-related cancer was 35.3% in men and 17.3% in women. We found that every one in 36 men and one in 65 women developed tobacco-related cancer before age 75 in Nepal. Cancer of lung, mouth, esophagus and larynx were among the five most common tobacco-related cancers in both men and women. The incidence of tobacco-associated cancers was higher in urban region with age adjusted rate 33.6 and 17.0 per 100,000 population for men and women respectively compared to semi-urban and rural regions. Tobacco-associated cancer mortality was significantly higher compared to incidence.

CONCLUSION

The prevalence of tobacco-related cancer found high in Nepal despite of enforcement of tobacco control policy and strategies including WHO framework convention on tobacco control. Concerned authorities should focus towards monitoring of implemented tobacco control policy and strategies.

Hepatocellular Carcinoma among Patients with Chronic Liver Disease in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study

INTRODUCTION

Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most common primary liver cancer. Viral hepatitis, alcohol abuse, and autoimmune hepatitis are the common causes of hepatocellular carcinoma. Usually patients present at advanced stages where curative treatment is no longer possible. This study aimed to find the prevalence of hepatocellular carcinoma among patients with chronic liver disease in a tertiary care centre.

METHODS

This is a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in a single tertiary care centre from March 2020 to August 2022. The study was done among inpatients of the Department of Gastroenterology after ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee. A total population sampling method was used and data were collected using predetermined proformas. Point estimate at 95% Confidence Interval was calculated.

RESULTS

Among 1440 patients, hepatocellular carcinoma was seen in 54 (3.75%) (2.77-4.73, 95% Confidence Interval). At the time of diagnosis, 48 (88.89%) were symptomatic. The presenting symptoms were weight loss seen in 35 (64.81%) being the most common. Out of them, 37 (68.52%) consumed alcohol and 40 (74.07%) smoked cigarettes.

CONCLUSIONS

Hepatocellular carcinoma is a notable concern. Alcohol-related liver cirrhosis is the most frequent condition encountered in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in our setting.

Oncology clinical practice guidelines usage among physicians in Nepal

OBJECTIVE

Oncology clinical practice guidelines (OCPGs) are systematically developed evidence-based recommendations aimed to guide practitioners in decision making during the diagnosis, management, and treatment of cancer patients under specific circumstances, thereby optimizing clinical outcomes. However, little is known about the implementation of those guidelines in low and middle-income countries including Nepal. This research aimed to identify the type of OCPGs used by Nepalese physicians working in oncology departments and to explore barriers and facilitators affecting their use.

METHODS

Using the total population sampling technique, we conducted an online cross-sectional survey from June 2020 to January 2021 among physicians working in the oncology departments of Nepal. Descriptive analyses were conducted to summarize the research findings.

RESULTS

Out of 171 physicians approached for the study, 102 (59.6%) responded to the questionnaire. The sizable proportions of the participants were a senior group of physicians with 27.5% being consultants, 14.7% senior consultants, and 16.7% professors. The most commonly used guideline was the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guideline of the United States (75.5%) followed by the American Society of Clinical Oncology guideline (44.7%). While only 22.6% of physicians reported using OCPGs every time, more than half (56.9%) highlighted that OCPGs are not feasible to implement in Nepal. Insufficient facilities/equipment, physicians' unwillingness to change their usual practice, inability to discuss research with knowledgeable colleagues, and lack of time were commonly cited barriers.

CONCLUSION

Findings of our study highlighted that the OCPGs developed in high-income countries may not be feasible for low resource settings like Nepal. Comprehensive local OCPGs should be developed considering the available resources, feasibility, and financial constraints of patients. Furthermore, a constant sharing and learning environment should be created to enhance the knowledge of practicing physicians and to promote the proper implementation of evidence-based findings.

Cancer burden in Nepal, 1990-2017: An analysis of the Global Burden of Disease study

Introduction

Cancer is the second leading cause of death and a major public health problem in the world. This study reports the trend and burden of cancer from 1990 to 2017 along with its risk factors in Nepal.

Methods

This study used the database of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation’s Global Burden of Diseases on cancer from Nepal to describe the most recent data available (2017) and trends by age, gender, and year from 1990 to 2017. The data are described as incidence, prevalence, disability-adjusted life years (DALY), and percentage change.

Results

In 2017, the age-standardized cancer incidence and mortality rates were 101.8/100,000 and 86.6/100,000 respectively in Nepal. Cancer contributed to 10% of total deaths and 5.6% of total DALYs in Nepal. The most common cancers were the breast, lung, cervical, stomach and oral cavity cancers. The number of new cancer cases and deaths in Nepal have increased from 1990 to 2017 by 92% and 95% respectively. On the other hand, age-standardized incidence and mortality rates decreased by 5% and 7% respectively. The leading risk factors of cancer were tobacco use, dietary factors, unsafe sex, air pollution, drug use, and physical inactivity.

Conclusions

This study highlighted the burden of cancer in Nepal, contributing to a significant number of new cancer cases, deaths and DALY. A comprehensive approach including prevention, early diagnosis and treatment, and rehabilitation should be urgently taken to reduce the burden of cancer.

Overview of Delivery of Cancer Care in Nepal: Current Status and Future Priorities

Nepal is a small, low-income country between India and China with a unique health care delivery system. Cancer is becoming an important public health problem in the country, but a systematic plan to cancer control is lacking. In this article, we aim to provide a systematic assessment of the burden of disease and available resources and suggest prioritization approaches for the future to assist with any such future cancer control plans for the country.

Comparison of mental burden across different types of cancer patients in Nepal: a special focus on cervical cancer patients

Purpose

The purpose of the study is to assess the differential impact of gender and cancer sites on mental burden across different types of cancer and control patients.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is based on a primary survey undertaken in 2015–2016 of 600 cancer and 200 control patients across five hospitals of Nepal. The data was analyzed using propensity score matching methods and treatment effect weighting estimators.

Findings

The authors find that of all the types of patients covered under this study, cervical cancer patients suffered from a greater intensity of anxiety and lack of functional wellbeing. On an average, all other female, male cancer patients, and control patients experience significantly lower intensity of mental burden in the range of 1.83, 2.63 and 3.31, respectively when compared to patients of cervical cancer. The results are robust across all the four treatment effect estimators and through all the measures of mental burden. The implications of suffering from cervical cancer, as a unique gynecological cancer was studied in-depth. An effect size analysis pointed out to the dysfunctional familial relationship as additional causes of concern for cervical cancer patients.

Originality/value

An important finding that emerged is that female cancer patients especially those who have cervical cancer should be given special attention because they appear to be the most vulnerable group. Further work is needed to delineate the reasons behind a cervical cancer patient facing higher amount of stress.

Measuring the societal burden of cancer: a case of lost productivity in Nepal

OBJECTIVES

The global patterns of cancer incidences and mortality rates are slowly shifting towards low- and middle-income countries. Through our article, we highlight the societal cost associated with premature mortality and morbidity of cancer in Nepal. The monetary loss is indicative of the severity of the issue and it serves to motivate the policymakers realize the urgency in devising appropriate cancer control strategies.

STUDY DESIGN

The study design is a cross-sectional study using the GLOBOCAN 2012 data.

METHODS

Using the human capital approach, we measure the number of years of life lost (YLL) and the number of years of productive life lost (YPLL) due to cancer in Nepal.

RESULTS

We found that following diagnosis, a Nepali patient with cancer is likely to lose out on 19.64 years of their life; the average number of YLL is higher for females (22.2 years vs 16.8 years in males). After adjusting for labor force participation rate and predicted growth rate of the economy, we found that cancer led to a total productivity loss of $149 million (males) and $121 million (females) in 2012. The burden of the top five cancers accounted for almost half of the total productivity loss in both the genders. Cervical and lung cancer incur the maximum cost to society, respectively, for females and males.

CONCLUSIONS

The article highlighted the severity of the cancer issue and emphasized the urgency needed in devising cancer control policies in Nepal.

Trends and clinicopathological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinomas reported at a tertiary cancer hospital in Nepal during 1999 to 2009

OBJECTIVE

Reliable data describing the trends and clinicopathological characteristics of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in the Nepalese population are very limited. The current study aimed to examine the demographics, trend, and clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC reported to the main referral/tertiary cancer hospital, the B.P. Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital (BPKMCH) in Nepal for a period of 11 years (1999-2009).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study. Data were retrieved retrospectively from hospital register maintained in the Department of Ear, Nose, Throat at BPKMCH, categorized into demographic and clinicopathological variables and SPSS (V25) was used for the analysis.

RESULTS

In a period of 11 years, 3,452 cases of head and neck cancer were registered at the Department of Ear, Nose, Throat, BPKMCH. Out of 1,111 oral cancer cases, 1,081 (97.3%) were OSCC. A trend for increasing number of OSCCs presenting to BPKMCH was observed during that period. OSCC was found to be more common among males (73.0%), Brahmin/Chhetri ethnic groups (33.0%), in age group of 51-60 years (31.9%), and in Terai region (62.0%). Tongue (42.8%) was the most common site, followed by buccal mucosa (27.2%). Nevertheless, when stratified with respect to the geographical location and ethnicity, buccal mucosa was the most common site for OSCC in Terai region (63.9%, p = .002) and in Madhesi ethnic group (34.2%, p < .001). Majority of OSCC cases were diagnosed at advanced stage (49.7%, Stage IV) and received a combination therapy (42.0%).

CONCLUSIONS

Hospital-based records can provide valuable information on disease characteristics in countries like Nepal. This study revealed that the clinicopathological characteristics of OSCC in Nepal follow the global trend. Nevertheless, relationship between specific intraoral sites for OSCC with geographic location and ethnic groups is an interesting observation and requires further population-based studies to clarify these findings.

Cancer Cases Referral system in Nepal

The burden of cancer is estimated to be increasing in Nepal, whilst the country lacks national established guidelines or protocols for referral of cancer cases. Cancer patients are presenting many different health facilities throughout the country. In rural areas almost all cancer patients have their first diagnosis when visiting a health assistant or nurse at their nearest primary health care delivery service. If cancer is suspected, health care assistants or nurses will refer the patient to a medical doctor at the primary health centre, or refer the patient directly to the cancer treatment centre or oncology department of the closest hospital. Patients from urban areas will usually be seen for the first time by a medical doctor initially and then referred to either the cancer treatment centre or oncology department of the hospital. Both in rural and urban areas the referral for treatment is determined by both the patients’ capacity to pay for treatment own healthcare, as well as their geographical location (i.e. availability and accessibility of cancer treatment services.

Liver Cancer in Nepal

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is highly incidental in South Asian countries. Nepal, however, has low incidence for HCC owing to low prevalence for hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. Nepal lacked national cancer registry until 2003. Though there has been some effort in having one, the current registry incorporates twelve centers and may not properly represent the total cancer burden in the country. Serology for HBV and HCV is seen to be positive in nearly 25 to 30% and 5 to 10% of HCCs respectively. Clinical characteristics of HCCs in Nepal have been discussed in this mini-review and it features poor performance status and advanced stage at presentation, making only a small fraction of these subjects eligible for curative treatment options. Most of the standard treatment modalities are available in Nepal and appear to be reasonably affordable as compared with other developed nations.

How to cite this article: Shrestha A. Liver Cancer in Nepal. Euroasian J Hepato-Gastroenterol 2018;8(1):63-65.

Can clinical pharmacists bridge a gap between medical oncologists and patients in resource-limited oncology settings? An experience in Nepal

The clinical pharmacist's part is emerging as a key extension to the human services care team bringing about enhanced patient care in the world. The main objective of this article is to highlight the role of clinical pharmacist in an oncology setting of Nepal. An enrollment of clinical pharmacist in an oncology hospital or in oncology settings can work as a bridge between medical oncologist and patients.

Distribution of Cancer by Sex and Site in Nepal

Background:

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world. The indicators of cancer by site are significant to identify the problem of cancer. The purpose of this retrospective study is to perform the incidence of all cancers both in males and females over the ten years in Nepal.

Methods:

The data collected from all the seven hospital based cancer registries of Nepal have taken for the study. This retrospective study has presented the number of cases, frequencies, and crude incidence of all cancers by sex and site.

Results:

A total of 55,931 cancer cases with known age were registered throughout the hospital based seven cancer registries of Nepal from 2003 to 2012. Throughout the ten years, Lung (incl. trachea and bronchus) cancer (19.08%) was the major cancer in males followed by stomach cancer (7.86%) and Pharynx cancer (5.4%). Similarly, Cervix cancer (21.9%) was the most common cancer in females followed by breast (15.48%) and Lung (incl. trachea and bronchus) cancer (10.47%) over the ten years. This retrospective study presented the distribution of the cancer site over the ten years in Nepal.

Conclusion:

This retrospective study showed that lung cancer is the major cancer in male while in female cervix uteri is the most common cancer ranging from 2003 to 2012.

Hospital-Based Cancer Incidence in Nepal from 2010 to 2013

Background:

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death throughout the world. Analyzing the incidence of cancer by site, sex and age is essential to detect the burden of cancer. Throughout the twelve hospital based cancer registries of Nepal, a total of 29,802 cancer cases with known age, were registered from January 1st 2010 to 2013 December 31st. The purpose of this retrospective study is to present the incidence of all cancer sites in both males and females for this period.

Materials and Methods:

This paper reviews data from all the hospital based cancer registries over a four-year period. This retrospective study has illustrated the number of cases, frequencies and crude incidence of all cancers by sex and site. For statistical analysis, SPSS (version 23.0) and Microsoft Excel 2010 were used.

Results:

Over the four-year period from January 1st 2010 to 2013 December 31st the major cancer in males was identified as follows: lung cancer (17.5%) followed by stomach cancer (7.6 %) and larynx cancer (5.4%). Among females, for the same four-year period, the three common cancers were identified as cervix (18.9 %) followed by breast (15.6 %) and lung (10.2%).

Conclusion:

This retrospective study concluded that cancer is being increased by calendar years both in males and females however, the incidence of cancer is higher in females compared to males. .

Prediction of the Cancer Incidence in Nepal

Background:

The burden of cancer will increase both in males and females in Nepal. Due to the unavailability of a population based cancer registry it is difficult to precisely predict of future incidence rates. However, using hospital-based data to predict the cancer incidence in Nepal it was found that it will certainly increase both in males and females from 2013 to 2020.

Material and Methods:

For this research we used the cases from the first national cancer registry report (2003) to the cases of the most recent (2012) accumulated by all the hospital based cancer registries in Nepal. We used simple linear regression to analyze the data and thereby obtained a simple linear regression equation.

Result:

In 2020 the highest incidence rate will be for males 38.5 per 100,000 and for females, 41.4. The present study demonstrated that female cancer incidence will be higher than that in males in Nepal.

Conclusion:

This study provided evidence of future trends, which will feature an increasing rate of cancer in Nepal.

Changes in the Distribution of Cancer Incidence in Nepal from 2003 to 2013

Background: Cancer incidence data are vital for cancer control planning in any nation. This retrospective study was conducted to compare the cancer incidence of all sites between the first cancer registry report and the most recent example in Nepal. Material and Methods: The cases in the first (2003) and latest (2013) national cancer registry reports, accumulated by all the hospital based cancer registries in Nepal were taken for the research. The frequencies, crude incidences and age specific incidences (per 100,000) of the five major cancers were calculated for both males and females. Result: The most common cancer type for males in both years 2003 and 2013 was lung. Stomach was the third most common cancer in 2003 while it was the second in 2013. Similarly, the first four major cancers (cervix, breast, lung and ovary) did not change between 2003 and 2013 in females. The total cancer incidence rate increased from 12.8 in 2003 to 30.4 per 100,000 in 2013 for males and from 15.1 to 33.3 in females. Conclusion: The most common cancers in males in 2003 and 2013 were in the bronchus and lung. Similarly, the most common cancer in females was cervix at both time points. The cancer incidence rate in females was higher than in males both in 2003 and 2013.