Cancer cases not being reported

The under-reporting of many cancer cases has prompted the TT Cancer Society’s (TTCS) call for Health Minister John Rahael to bring legislation for mandatory reporting of the disease. 

The diseases notifiable under the law in TT as well as internationally are yellow fever, cholera, plague and tuberculosis. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was added this year. The first publication of the % found that in over four years (January 1 1995 to December 31, 1999), there were 7,834 new cancer cases and 4,426 deaths. Speaking at the launch of the report on Monday at the Trinidad Hilton, Dr Jacqueline Sabga, a member of the TTCS Management Committee, said the Registry was able to accumulate statistics from different sources to publish its “Cancer in TT 1995-1999.” However, she said the data was only as accurate as its source. “Too many cases of cancer in TT go unreported. Rational decisions must be based on accurate data.” Sabga said mandatory reporting will enable the Registry to function at its full potential.

There were 3,926 new cases of cancer in men and 3,908 females. However, male deaths outnumbered females with 2,378 men and 2,048 women. The leading causes of cancer in men are prostate, lung, colon/rectum and stomach, while for women it is breast, cervix uteri, uterus and colon/rectum. Mortality among men was highest for prostate cancer and in women the highest number of deaths was due to breast cancer. The incidence of cancer was found to be “strongly age-dependent” with less than two percent of tumours occurring in persons under 15 years and 50 percent in persons 65 years and older. “Almost half of all cancers occurred in persons in the most productive age group (16-64 years).” During their lifetime, one in 15 men can be expected to develop prostate cancer and one in 25 women breast cancer. The Registry said if current trends continue, men will be four times more likely to develop lung cancer as women and more than twice as likely to develop stomach cancer.

Chairman of the North West Regional Health Authority, Dr Patrick Watson, said the publication  is significant because it provides information critical for the development of the National Oncology Service and for effective monitoring and cancer screening programmes. Dr Watson said the report is the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean and the data collection methods, statistical reports and recommendations will be shared with other countries. The Registry is helping Guyana and Barbados establish their own system and Grenada and Bahamas are next. Registrar Veronica Roach said the Registry has not been getting enough cooperation from private institutions and laboratories. She said General Practitioners could “do more” in assisting with information. Fewer than ten private practitioners send information to the registry. Health Minister John Rahael said the cancer report is timely since Government is embarking on the National Oncology Centre which will emphasise prevention and screening to reduce the incidence of cancer. He said the data on cancer morbidity and mortality will inform policy formulation, budgetary allocation, prevention and treatment planning. “The new programme and centre will also mean new employment and education opportunities as well as reduction of economic and social burden of the disease.”