MOUTH CANCER PATIENTS GETTING YOUNGER

By Vonu LIBITINO

An Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) surgeon at the Angau Memorial Hospital in Lae, Morobe Province, has reported an alarming and emerging trend in mouth/oral cancer patients presenting to the hospital for treatment.

ENT Surgeon Dr. George Luke says mouth cancer cases are getting younger over the years, and the youngest patient he has seen so far was a 15-year-old.

“I just saw a patient yesterday who is in his 20s with full-blown cancer. We do not usually see patients as young as this. Before, it used to be patients in their 60s.

The trend has changed since the 2000s, with more younger cases coming in for mouth/oral cancer. Initially, we were seeing 40-year-old patients.

Nowadays, we are seeing 20-30-year-old cases. Most of these cases are betelnut chewers,” Dr. George Luke explained.

Dr. Luke explained that he conducted a small study in Port Moresby regarding mouth/oral cancer patients.

He created a scenario to note his observations, saying that of the 100 cases that presented, 98% were betelnut chewers and only 2% were non-betelnut chewers. Most of the 98% started chewing betelnut as young as 10-11 years old.

“The cases we see are from cancer in the tongue and cheek, which in my view are related to betelnut chewing and augmented by smoking and drinking alcohol, which increases the chances of getting mouth cancer by 40%,” the ENT Surgeon said

Dr. Luke stressed that people experiencing any type of mouth/oral disease need to report it early so that, if cancer is detected, an early intervention can be performed.

“If they report early, we treat them early, and the outcome is good.”

He explained that if they detect mouth/oral cancer in the cases that present, they offer three services, including:

1. Surgery, where the cancer is cut out.
2. Chemotherapy, where medication is given.
3. Radiotherapy, where high doses of radiation are used to kill cancer cells or slow their growth.

“We can operate on a patient only if they present early. After stage 3 and 4, we can cut, but it would require other supportive treatment like cancer medication, and sometimes, we do not have that specific medication needed for cancer of the mouth,” Dr. Luke explained

He said that in cases that present too late, when the mouth/oral cancer is in the advanced stages of 3 & 4, they offer palliative care, which involves the treatment of pain.

Dr. Luke emphasized that people need to report cancer early, as early reporting means they can perform surgery to cut out the cancer.

“Late presentation [with cancer] is a killer disease, and no one comes out of it,” Dr. Luke warned.