Cervical cancer a major cause of maternal mortality

Last year, 1,047 people were admitted to National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICR&H) and 945 of them (64.8 percent) have been suffering from cervical cancer.

Besides, 60 people were admitted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and 113 to Chittagong Medical College Hospital with cervical cancer the same year.

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The factors behind the high prevalence of the malignancy in Bangladesh also include multiple sexual partners, uncared abortion, low socio-economic condition, STDs and lack of screening programmes.

The shocking figures came from an orientation meeting on cervical cancer screening held at IDB Bhaban on Thursday.

Jointly organised by the Directorate of Family Planning (DFP) and UNFPA, the meeting was addressed by UNFPA Representative Suneeta Mukherjee, its assistant representative Tahera Ahmed, Fashiur Rahman of DFP, BSMMU Pro-VC Prof MA Mannan and DFP Director (MCH-Services) Dr Jafar Ahmad Hakim.

The meeting was told that cervical cancer is a most common malignancy in women across the world affecting 14 lakh women a year, but its propensity is higher in developing countries.

In developing countries, 9.6 percent women die of cervical cancer (CC). Of the total CC deaths, 40 percent occur in South Central Asia, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan.

Presenting hospital data, experts told the meeting that in Bangladesh cervical cancer constitutes about 22-29 percent of the genital tract cancer.

In 2001, over 11,950 cancerous cases were detected in the country. Of these, 30 percent were genital tract cancer, most of which constituted cervical cancer.

In the Bangabandhu Skeikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), 161 cases of genital tract cancer were detected between March 2000 and December 2002, of which 65 or 40.4 percent were cervical cancer.