Researchers in Kolkata have identified a reason as to why children in the city are more vulnerable to acute lymphatic leukaemia (ALL), a disease that kills around a thousand every year in the state. Socio-economic condition, they have concluded, is responsible for the predominance of T-cells in the body that make response to therapy slower and patients more susceptible to a relapse. A comparative study has revealed that the cell pattern was different in more affluent metros like Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi where youngsters responded better to therapy.
A study on 500 patients over a period of eight years at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) shows that majority of children and adolescents aged between one and 18 years had a T-cell pattern. "This reflects a lower socio-economic status. It hurts ALL patients for the pattern not only slows down the effect of treatment but also makes children vulnerable to a relapse. This isn't the case in more affluent metros like Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai where B-cell pattern is dominant. It makes treatment more effective and minimizes the chances of a relapse," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay who led the study.
Data collected by the researchers show that while 72.4% B-cell patients are cured, the figure was just 56% in T-cell patients. Around 41% of T-cell patients suffered a relapse compared to just 20% of B-cell patients. Published in the Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology, the study says that a vast majority of T-cell patients covered came from a poor socio-economic background. "Studies worldwide show that developing countries like India have a predominance of T-cell patients. Again in Kolkata, the number of such patients is higher than other metros and they invariably come from a poorer economic background. This is a worry since ALL is very common and comprises 40% of all paediatric cancer patients," said Mukhopadhyay.
Bengal has 3 lakh cancer patients, out of whom 8% are children. Around 8% of ALL patients die. "The mortality rate is higher in Kolkata. Economic condition is one of the factors responsible for this. It has pushed up the number of T-cell patients," added Mukhopadhyay.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Economic-instability-leads-to-leukaemia-Study/articleshow/29919919.cms
A study on 500 patients over a period of eight years at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) shows that majority of children and adolescents aged between one and 18 years had a T-cell pattern. "This reflects a lower socio-economic status. It hurts ALL patients for the pattern not only slows down the effect of treatment but also makes children vulnerable to a relapse. This isn't the case in more affluent metros like Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai where B-cell pattern is dominant. It makes treatment more effective and minimizes the chances of a relapse," said Ashis Mukhopadhyay who led the study.
Data collected by the researchers show that while 72.4% B-cell patients are cured, the figure was just 56% in T-cell patients. Around 41% of T-cell patients suffered a relapse compared to just 20% of B-cell patients. Published in the Indian Journal of Medical and Paediatric Oncology, the study says that a vast majority of T-cell patients covered came from a poor socio-economic background. "Studies worldwide show that developing countries like India have a predominance of T-cell patients. Again in Kolkata, the number of such patients is higher than other metros and they invariably come from a poorer economic background. This is a worry since ALL is very common and comprises 40% of all paediatric cancer patients," said Mukhopadhyay.
Bengal has 3 lakh cancer patients, out of whom 8% are children. Around 8% of ALL patients die. "The mortality rate is higher in Kolkata. Economic condition is one of the factors responsible for this. It has pushed up the number of T-cell patients," added Mukhopadhyay.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Economic-instability-leads-to-leukaemia-Study/articleshow/29919919.cms
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