Cancer Sites Prevalence among Current and Former Cigarettes Smokers: A study of Southern Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Muhammad Siddique Akbara,Muhammad Asifb, Ansar Abbasc, Asad Abbasd, Hassan Alie, Hamza Alif.

Objectives: To see the prevalence of cancer sites among male smokers of the Southern Punjab, Pakistan.
Methods: A cross-sectional sample of 211male cancer patients (aged: 19-80 years),belonging to the Southern Punjab was collectedfrom the Outdoor Ward of Cancer, Oncology Ward of Nishtar Hospital, Multan and Multan Institute of Nuclear and Radiotherapy (MINAR) Hospital. Information about socio-demographic, smoking-related characteristics and medical records of various types of cancers were recordedthrough self-made questionnaire. Some descriptive analysis i.e., means along with standard deviation (SD) of each quantitative variable and frequency along with their percentage of each categorical variable was calculated. For means age comparison, two sample independent t-test was used in the analysis.
Results:Among the cancer patients, 79.1% were current smokers and 20.9% were former smokers.The mean (± SD) age to start cigarette smoking was reported to be 22.46 (±4.35) while mean age for smoking cessation (quit) was 46.23(±12.24) years. Among overall smokers, percentage of lung cancer is highest (28.4%), followed by stomach (19.4%) and esophageal cancer (19.0%). However, cancer of throat and urinary bladder both have equal prevalence (16.6%). The mean (± SD) age affected from cancerous disease was reported to be 47.59 (±12.68) years.
Conclusion:Various cancer sites are dominant among Smokers in Southern Punjab, Pakistan. However, the percentage of lungs cancer was highest among all stated types.