Gastro cancer rises among youth: Experts

Chennai, Jan. 12: Despite the increasing incidence of gastrointestinal cancer, and that too among young people, there’s no proper data or research available in India, say gastroenterologists.

Last week alone, senior consultant, Dr V. Vait­heeswaran, had seen three new cases - a 26-year-old from Odisha with rectal cancer, a 31-year-old from Tamil Nadu with colon cancer and a 30-year-old with stomach cancer.

“Clinically, there’s an increase in the incidence of proximal stomach cancer, rectum and colon cancer. There’s no research done in our country to explain why it’s occurring and at a very early age too. We assume that it is due to a change in food habits and might be due to processed food,” said Dr Vaitheeswaran, head of minimally invasive and GI surgery, Global He­alth City. Long-time gastroesophageal refl­ux disease can also lead to GI cancer, he added.

The data from Nat­ional Cancer Registries indicates that gastric cancer is a leading problem in the north-eastern and southern states of India.

Designed for ease of consumption, pro­ce­ssed food maybe the preferred choice for many, but people often do not look at the ingredients used in these foods that lead to poor digestion apart from other problems.

“Almost 5 to 10 per cent of the population has constipation complaints. More than half of these complaints are diet-related. Anything easy to prepare, canned juice and junk food among others, come un­der the processed fo­od category. A 330 ml soft drink contains nine teaspoons of sugar,” says Dr P. Basumani, consultant gastroenterologist, Fortis Malar Ho­spital.

Eating highly pro­cessed food can artifici­ally stimulate dopa­mine, the neurotransmitter that plays a role in addiction. “Proc­essed foods have very little fibre, thus leading to constipation, especially among children. We have come a long way changing our diet patterns, but what can be done is to keep such food as minimum as possible,” adds the gastroenterologist.