By Hassan Zaggi
The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, has disclosed that 746 Nigerians die annually as a result of oral cancer complications.
This is even as 1146 oral cancer cases are diagnosed in Nigeria annually.
In a keynote address at a one day oral cancer training with the theme: ‘The use of artificial intelligence in the early detection of oral cancer and oral potentially malignant disorders,’ organized by Cleft and Facial Deformity Foundation in Abuja, weekend, the Minister expressed concern that most people are not aware of the devastating effect of oral cancer.
“Oral cancer is very critical to us because it can easily deface ones face, you will not be able to talk, you cant eat, the mortality rate is very high. It is even higher than the rest of the cancers,” the Minister said.
Represented by the Head of Dentistry Division, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. Gloria Uzo-Igwe, the Minister however, disclosed that his ministry is intensifying awareness campaign to enlighten Nigerians about the dangers of oral cancer.
He disclosed that plans have been concluded to launch a policy on oral health.
“We have a policy that we are going to launch in November on oral health. Our own is preventive, we go to communities and we raise awareness.
“We are training our community health workers, because if you go to communities, there are no oral health workers there. Everybody wants to go to the town, there are no dentists in the communities. We don’t have dental experts in our rural communities where oral cancers are more prominent.
“We go to communities to train health workers so that they can recognize early signs of oral cancer and refer the patients to the hospitals where dentist can get treatment.
“We don’t want it to get to the fourth stage or even third stage. As long as they will be able to recognize it and sent the patient to the hospital for prompt action.”
Dr. Osagie further explained that the target of the policy “is that we should be able to map at least 50 per cent of the population in the rural areas and make sure that there are better professionals in our primary health care centres.
“We are aiming on what we call a comprehensive centre, at least there must be a dental clinic comprising of a dentist, therapist, hygienists, in a comprehensive centre, at least, in the three geopolitical zones of every state.”
Speaking, the convener of the training, Dr. Bello Alokun, explained that artificial intelligence is an advancement in technology where the use of computers, information obtained from a patient could be used to actually predict with more than 90 per cent accuracy the fact that somebody could develop cancer in another ten years.
To that extent, according to him, “it makes it easier for practitioners to keep a better eye on such people and thereby picking oral cancer at its infancy when it is just developing. Early detection means that we can cure cancer in a particular victim.
“Artificial intelligence is actually in its rudimentary stage in Nigeria. Its use is being explored in different aspects of medicine and other aspects of science. Nigeria is close to zero level.
“We are collaborating to promote the links that can predict when one can develop oral cancer and to spread information among Nigerians about the use of artificial intelligence and about oral cancer generally because early detection is the key.”
In her presentation, the Prof Bukola Folashade Adeyemi of the University College Ibadan, disclosed that even though oral cancer is not too prevalent in Nigeria, she, however, said that its impact is devastating.
“Over 1000 cases of oral cancer are diagnosed every year and over 700 of that number die. That is means that over 50 per cent of people that are diagnosed die of oral cancer every year. That is enormous because these are people that are very important to some people.”
While calling for regular dental checks, she said: “We encourage early diagnosis. This is because if a disease affects a single person in the population, the individual and the close friends are at a loss.
“We talk about early diagnosis, we talk about avoidance of established risk factors. “
On the risk factors that causes oral cancer, the Dentistry Professor said: “The most important risks factors are tobacco and alcohol. They alter the way the human body use to handle reactive oxygen species. Individual that avoid these things give themselves a reduced risk of having oral cancer.
“I am not saying that it is only people that are expose to these factors are the only ones that have oral cancer, some people that have some genetic anomaly within them, they have aberration.
“What we advice people is that they should avoid exposure to these agents. These days, some young people don’t smoke again, they use what they call e-smoking, they also use other gadgets call shishan and the rest, they are still dangerous.
“We try to advice people to avoid perverse ways of sexual behavior such as oral sex, avoidance of agents that have been associated with carsinogenesis.”
Explaining further, she said: “Another very important thing in our society is the excessive use of foods that are prepared over naked flames, they are dangerous, especially in individuals that are constantly being exposed to them.
“They include suya, roasted fish, and all those roasted things that are done over naked fire. They contain what we call established carsinogenes.
“So, we are not saying that we should not eat them, but things should be done in moderation. Moderation should be established in most of the things that we do.
“Other risks factors for oral cancer is continuous infection. We advise people to visit a dentist at least twice a year and when you cant make it twice, at least visit your dentist once in a year.”
