Unlike cancers of the head and neck, breast, oral, cervix and the gastric system, awareness on urological cancers needs to pick up among the public. Though less common when compared to the top five cancers in the country, cancers involving organs of the genitourinary system in men come with a range of issues, including impact on the quality of life.
To promote better understanding of uro-oncology and sharing of knowledge among doctors, the Cancer Institute (WIA) and Stanford University, California, are jointly organising an international update on uro-oncology 2020, during the weekend.
“Uro-oncology covers cancers of the kidney, urinary bladder, ureter, testes, penis and the prostate gland. In India, the commonest cancers are those of the breast, oral cavity and the gastric system. There is plenty of awareness about these cancers and enough attention on treatment modalities among the public. Focus on urological cancers, that are less common, is less, and there is not much public attention,” said Anand Raja, associate professor, Surgical Oncology, Cancer Institute, on Friday.
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He added that though rare, these cancers had issues concerning quality of life. Like all cancers, it required a multi-disciplinary approach for better outcomes.
T.G. Sagar, director (emeritus) of the institute, said urological cancers accounted for 75,000 new cancer cases every year in the country, and the conference would discuss prevention, treatment, new advances and technologies.
Doctors noted that these cancers were not among the top five commonest cancers in the country, and hence, there was not much exposure for oncologists either. For instance, self-examination of the testes is advised for men on the same lines of breast examination for women abroad. Doctors said that testicular cancer, that mostly occurs in the young, had high cure rates, while prostate cancer mainly occured among the geriatric population.
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V. Surendran, associate professor and head, Department of Psycho-oncology, pointed out that it impacted the quality of life of a man. “In women, we talk about mastectomy, and hair loss due to chemotherapy. Similarly, we provide counselling for male patients before and after treatment as it has a psychological impact too, and a lot of issues surrounding masculinity,” he said.
Arvind Krishnamurthy, professor and head, Surgical Oncology, said that the incidence of prostate cancer was increasing in the institute’s cancer registry. He added that the institute had received the latest robotic system for surgeries and was in the process of being commissioned.