Poor awareness, late diagnosis and a variety of mistaken beliefs are the main reasons why more than 50 per cent of cancer patients in India prove to be untreatable and actually die of the disease. This was the view expressed by several cancer specialists attending the national conference of the Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO) held here this fortnight.

IASO president Dr K.S. Gopinath said that nearly 7.5 lakh persons were diagnosed with this disease every year but more disheartening was the fact that a little less than 50 per cent among them were forced to lose their lives mainly because of their own lack of awareness about the disease.

Around 250 renowned cancer specialists from all over the country and more than 20 international faculty from the USA, the UK, Japan and Australia attended the conference at Hotel Taj Residency. Hence an international symposium on "Current trends and future directions in Surgical Oncology" was also held on the occasion. The conference was hosted by the Department of Surgical Oncology, Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University (CSMMU).

Reiterating that time was the most crucial factor in cancer treatment, the surgeons unanimously supported an immediate diagnosis on the least suspicion. They cited inadequate infrastructure in the form of cancer hospitals and lack of cobalt machines as reasons for a higher mortality rate in cancer patients.

Dwelling on new surgical techniques like laparascopic cancer surgery, cyro surgery and radio frequency ablation, the doctors stated that they might be more expensive but they gave better results. It was a pity, they said, that unlike other countries India still lacked genuine charitable organisations, funding institutions and other service groups to help cancer patients in need of money.

The surgeons also pointed out an urban-rural divide. Dr Devendra Patel, ex-director, Cancer and Research Institute in Gujarat said that patients in urban areas respond more instantly to symptoms in rural areas who see no gain in approaching doctors for diagnosis leading to a stage where it actually gets incurable.

Surgical oncologists also blasted the myth that biopsy causes cancer. Dr Arun Chaturvedi pointed out that a faulty biopsy results in improper dignosis which in turn leads to deterioration in the patient's condition. Such a patient then puts the blame on biopsy for further deterioration in his health due to cancer. There was a serious need for only experts to conduct biopsy tests and clear this misconception regarding biopsy.

Dr Ashish Wakhlu of CSMMU also pointed towards a regional profile of cancer patients: It was common to find thyroid cancer in East UP as the soil in this area is iodine-deficient. Similarly, gall bladder cancer was very common among Kashmiris as they relished fat-rich food. Upites' love for chewing tobacco earns it the dubious distinction of an oral cancer afflicted.

Surgeons over the three days, also delivered extensive presentations on carcinoma of breast, oral cancer and colon cancer. Dr AP Majumdar from Apollo Hospital Kolkata delivered the Motibhai Oration on the treatment of rectal cancer.