The incidence of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Subtype M3 is extremely high in the Vijayawada-Guntur area. AML is a cancer of the myeloid line of blood cells, characterised by the quick growth of white blood cells that build up in the bone marrow and interfere with the production of normal blood cells. AML has several subtypes with treatment and prognosis varying among them.
Subtype M3 of AML is highly curable with 80 per cent of the patients being cured.
While the incidence of subtype M3 of AML is generally 15 %, oncologists of the Manipal Hospitals here have found a very high incidence of 60 % to 80% in the Vijayawada-Guntur region.
Head of Hemato-oncology Shruthi Prem said most of the liquid cancer (leukaemia and lymphoma) cases in the Vijayawada-Guntur region are referred to Manipal Hospitals, which is a pioneer in treating them in this area. The incidence of AML M3 cases is abnormally high in the area, she said.
The reason for this high incidence of the cancer in the region had to be investigated, Dr. Shruthi said.
But high exposure to pesticides could be a primary reason. The incidence of Aplastic anaemia caused by exposure to high-levels of pesticides was also high in the region.
Aplastic anemia is actually a rare disease in which the bone marrow and the haematopoietic stem cells that reside there are damaged. But the incidence of the disease is comparatively high in the region, Dr. Shruthi said.
By correlating the high incidence of Aplastic anemia and AML M3, one could conclude that exposure to high levels of pesticides could also be the reason for the high incidence of AML M3, but this had to be established with research, Dr. Shruthi cautioned.
Another anomaly in the region was the high incidence of paediatric cancers . The reason for high rate of paediatric cancers could be consanguineous marriages, which was widely practised in the State. “I have worked in all the South Indian States, but Andhra Pradesh has the highest rate of paediatric cancers,” she said.
