|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Nigeria has seen cancer cases on the rise among children, this medical expert in the oncology branch of medicine have attributed to multigenerational impacts.
They experts say that there is need for parents to better understand that epigenetic changes of DNA methylation could trigger the risk that causes rise in cancers cases among children.
To better manage the situation in the country, the experts call for more awareness and counselling sessions for parents across the country.
BusinessDay gathered that different tertiary intuitions in Nigeria including Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and National Hospital Abuja, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto (UDUTH) records at least 6-10 new cases childhood cancer are diagnosed very month, making about 120 new cases each in a year.
Also, the 0–4-year age group had the greatest contribution with most of the children dying during their course of treatment.
Prevalence rates are increasing in Nigeria for certain types of children cancers such as rhabdomyosarcoma, followed by lymphomas, which in children Burkitt lymphoma is the commonest. There is also nephroblastoma, neuroblastoma, kidney and leukaemia. These are the commonest types we see in our area. Another common type is retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye).
“It’s actually becoming rampant. In our centre in Sokoto, what we presently record is 6 – 10 cases per month. So per year, it would be 60 – 100 at a rough estimate,” said Aliyu Usman Malami, Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria.
“The ‘hereditary’ here means that children inherited an abnormality in the sequence/arrangement of gene from the parent(s) which can transform to cancer. Li-Fraumeni Syndrome is an inheritance of a disorder that would make some parts of the body cells to grow because they lack the ability to control the growth of cancer cells.”
Malami said that cancer is a combination of factors as it is difficult to pinpoint a single cause of cancer. “What we talk about instead, are the predisposing factors; the factors that exposes children to come up with cancer. In children between the ages to 0 – 15 years the commonest implicated cause of cancer is usually hereditary.”
However, in addressing the multigenerational impact of cancers in children, a number of studies have also linked parents’ exposures that occur before their children are even conceived to increased risk of childhood cancer for their children.
He explains that if the children’s system loses the ability to stop the replication of those cells, then that part of the body would continue to produce cells, which subsequently becomes too much and result into malignancy.
“Some are attributing other cancers to what the parents do, like parents working in chemical industries, and all these could lead to changes/abnormality within the DNA, which can be transferred,” he explained.
He advised parent to report any abnormal swelling on their children to the nearest hospital. If detected at an early stage and it is confined to a particular area, it can be cured and the patient can continue life normally,” he said.
“Parents’ should cut down alcohol, smoking or generally lifestyle that can cause disorders and also have a heavily negative impact on children,” Habeebu Muhammed, Head of Department Oncology at LUTH advised.
He added that Nigerians should not live a sedentary lifestyle and should engage in regularly exercise which according to him is very cheap to prevent cancer.
Muhammed advocate for the inclusion of cancer treatment in National Health Insurance Scheme so that it can be affordable for patients.
“The payment for this treatment is so high and they do not have the capacity to go and work while their wards are on treatment because the treatment has great side effect, we need urgent policy change to include treatment of cancer in National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) policy so that we can access these machines,” he stressed.
ANTHONIA OBOKOH
