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M.K. Piya



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    MINI 11 - Tobacco Control and Prevention (ID 108)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Mini Oral
    • Track: Prevention and Tobacco Control
    • Presentations: 1
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      MINI11.11 - Lung Cancer and Smoking in Nepal (ID 2395)

      17:30 - 17:35  |  Author(s): M.K. Piya

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Smoking and Tobacco kills 15,000 people in Nepal every year. The combined prevalence of smoking and tobacco use is 56.5% in men and 19.5% in women, of whom 32.5% of men and 15.2% of women smoked cigarettes. The estimated incidence of lung cancer is 8000 per year, making it the first commonest cancer in both sexes. Lung cancer accounts for 15.4% of total cancer as per the hospital based cancer registry for both genders in Nepal.

      Methods:
      This prospective observational study was conducted at National Hospital and Cancer Research Centre, Nepal. Following informed consent, patients with lung cancer attending the hospital for appointments completed pre-set questionnaires about smoking only, and their stage of cancer and histological type were obtained from case notes.

      Results:
      A total of 116 patients completed the questionnaire between March 2012 and February 2015. 59% of the respondents were male and 41% were female. The mean age was 64 years with ranging from 31 to 81 years. The proportion of patients presenting in the different stages of lung cancer were IB (3%), IIA (2%), IIB (4%), IIIA (30%), IIIB (41%), and IV (23%). The histological type of cancer showed that 53% were Squamous Cell Carcinoma, followed by Adenocarcinoma 28%, Small cell lung Cancer 13% and Neuroendocrine tumors 4%. 85% were smokers. Of the smokers, 14% started smoking before the age of 10, 53% when they were between 11-20 years of age, 13% when they were 21-30 years and only 5% started when they were 40 years or older. Only 4% smoked more than 30 cigarettes per day, 13% smoked 21-30 per day, 32% smoked 10-20 per day and 36% patient smoked less than 10 per day. 68% used local cigarettes, 7% foreign and 10% used both. Further analysis showed that 27% used cigarettes without filters, 50% filtered and 8% used both. 28% were relighting the butt ends, 5% did this occasionally and 52% did not practice this. 13% of patients were still smoking after their diagnosis, 24% quit less than a month later, 11% quit less than a year later, 19% had already quit smoking 5 years before the diagnosis of cancer, 12% had quit 10 years before and 8% had quit 20 years before. Out of 28% of relighting, 48% patient developed cancer in compare to 52% who never relight the butt end.

      Conclusion:
      The results shows that majority of patients are presenting at stage III and IV. NSCLC is still on the rise in Nepal. This late presentation suggests a lack of education in the community as well as a delayed diagnosis and referral to the specialist. Focus should be given to make the population in Nepal aware about smoking and tobacco use and its link to cancer, as well as the high prevalence of lung cancer in both genders in Nepal. Focus should also be given to educating the population and non-specialist health care professionals about the symptoms of lung cancer and the importance of early presentation to improve prognosis.

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