KARACHI, Dec 20: A prevention-oriented ‘national control programme for cancer’ was strongly recommended during the 9th Annual Cancer Conference which opened here on Friday.

The three-day event has been organized jointly by Pakistan Society of Clinical Oncology (PSCO) and the Department & Institute of Radiotherapy, Jinnah Post-graduate Medical Centre, Karachi.

The conference is being largely attended by the oncologists of Pakistan and other countries of the world.

President of the PSCO, Prof S.H. Mazoor Zaidi, in his inaugural address, reminded that one-third of all cancer cases, reported each year around the world, were curable and could be treated effectively.

Stressing the need for concerted efforts to ensure timely diagnosis and proper treatment, he called for necessary measures for the prevention of the disease because its fast-rising incidence in the developing world, including Pakistan, made medication a costly option — not affordable for a vast majority.

The senior oncologist held tobacco consumption responsible for 30 per cent of all cancer cases reported in the Third World saying that half of the regular users of tobacco did not survive.

Dietary management was also cited as an important aspect to avoid the disease. Diet, rich in vegetable and fruits, was recommended for people in general.

Prof Zaidi, in his presentation, discussed measures adopted by government and private sector for the treatment of the disease. He mentioned that a continuous progress had also been made in the fields of radiology, histopathology, haematology and molecular biology which was of a considerable help to the oncologists.

Prof Imtiaz A. Malik, in his Shamsuz Zaman Memorial Lecture Gall Bladder Cancer: Clinical Features in Management mentioned it to be the third commonest types of cancer affecting women in Pakistan.

Presence of gall bladder stone was said to be a significant risk factor, particularly among middle-aged women, he pointed out and said, exposure to noxious chemicals could also be a possible cause.

He enumerated nausea/vomiting, weight loss, jaundice and palpable mass as some of the generally observed clinical features of the condition. An association with typhoid fever was also referred to.

Prof Frank Branicki of Al-Ain University Hospital, UAE, made his presentation ‘Multi-modality of Gastric Cancer’. Suggesting an early referral on part of patients, he said that the treatment of advanced disease was far less satisfac-tory.

He observed that this was particularly in the backdrop of the fact that recent advances in endoscopic and laparoscopic techniques had made it possible to manage patients suffering from gastric cancer at a minimal morbidity and achieve an excellent result for a majority of them.

Prof Phillepe M. Frossard of Aga Khan Medical University presented his state-of-art lecture Molecular Genetics of Cancer: Lessons from Colorectal Cancers.—APP