Skipping meals, tobacco use triple throat cancer risk: BBCI–IASST study

Guwahati, Dec 24: A study conducted by the city-based Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) and the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) has shown that prolonged gaps between meals significantly increase the risk of hypopharynx or throat cancer.

It found that individuals who routinely have a gap of five hours or more between meals, coupled with consuming tobacco and smoking during that period, face nearly three times higher risk of developing hypopharynx cancer, and each additional hour between meals is associated with a further 46 per cent increase in risk.

In contrast, higher consumption of citrus fruits and leafy green vegetables was found to be strongly protective.

In an earlier study in Iran, drinking hot tea was found to be a risk factor for esophageal (food pipe) cancer. However, the present study by BBCI and IASST did not show a significant association between drinking tea and hypopharynx cancer risk.

This is an important finding, as the vast majority of the people of Assam are tea drinkers.

The study has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Indian Journal of Medical Research, the official journal of the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The lead investigator of the study is Dr Lipi Mahanta, formerly of the Mathematical and Computational Sciences Division of IASST.

Dr Tashnin Rahman, Professor of Head & Neck Surgery at BBCI and part of the research, said the overall prognosis of hypopharynx cancer is poor compared to other head and neck cancers.

“More than 700 patients with hypopharynx cancer are seen at our institute every year. The standard of care for early hypopharynx cancer is radiation therapy. However, many patients who do not respond to the radiation therapy end up with salvage surgery, leading to loss of the natural voice. Hence, preventive strategies through lifestyle modifications are vital to tackle hypopharynx cancer,” Dr Rahman said.

According to Dr Manigreeva Krishnatreya of the Department of Cancer Epidemiology at BBCI, the incidence of hypopharynx cancer in Assam and Northeast India is among the highest in the world.

“This is the first epidemiological study that provides a link between prolonged inter-meal intervals and hypopharynx cancer risk in our population. There are very limited case-control studies on hypopharynx cancer from this region. In a case-control study, both patients with hypopharynx cancer, referred to as cases, and healthy individuals without cancer (controls) matched with cases are compared,” Dr Krishnatreya said.

By

Staff Reporter