Cancer cases rising among children and young people in Nepal

KATHMANDU – Of the 37 beds allocated for children at Chitwan-based BP Koirala Memorial Cancer Hospital, almost all remain occupied most of the time, suggesting a worrying rise in cancer among children.

Not just the elderly, but even young children and people in their late 20s and early 30s are increasingly developing cancer in the country, oncologists said.

“The number of young cancer patients has increased alarmingly in recent years,” Dr Shivaji Poudel, executive director at the hospital, said over the phone from Chitwan.

“However, detailed studies into the causes behind the rise in cancer cases among younger children in the country have not been carried out.”

Though the exact number of cancer patients in the country remains unknown, doctors say overall cancer cases have increased markedly over recent years.

According to data provided by the hospital administration, more than 210,000 cancer patients sought treatment at the hospital in the fiscal year 2024 to 2025, compared with 138,000 in the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 – a 52 per cent increase.

“Over 7,000 of them were newly diagnosed cancer patients, and the rest were cancer survivors and those still receiving cancer treatment,” Dr Poudel said.

“What is more concerning is that most patients seek treatment only at the third or fourth stages, when chances of recovery are much lower,” he added.

The Global Cancer Observatory, an international agency for cancer research, estimated that there were 22,008 cancer cases in Nepal in 2022 and 14,704 deaths. As many as 44,803 people were diagnosed with cancer in the five years leading up to 2022.

Due to a lack of testing at health facilities, limited access to crucial tests at cancer hospitals and low awareness of cancer risks among both patients and health workers, many people in Nepal are dying from cancer.

Patients generally do not seek treatment unless it is an emergency, and healthcare providers also do not order testing unless other conditions have been ruled out.

Sedentary lifestyles, the consumption of unhygienic foods and the growing use of pesticides in food crops are contributing to the rise in cancer cases in the country, according to experts.

“Genetic factors also play a role, but changing lifestyles are equally responsible for the rise in cancer at younger ages,” said Dr Sudip Shrestha, chairman of the Lalitpur-based Nepal Cancer Hospital and Research Center.

“Cancers seen in people in their 50s in Western countries are now appearing in Nepalis in their 30s and 40s. This is serious.”

The hospital administration said around 15,000 patients seek treatment at the hospital every year. Breast and lung cancer have now surpassed cervical cancer as the most common cancers in Nepal, according to doctors.

Among men, lung cancer is the most common, followed by stomach and liver cancers, according to the Global Cancer Observatory 2022 report. Cancers of the nose, ear, throat and colon have also increased markedly in recent years.

The government decided years ago to provide free screening for cervical cancer at all state-run health facilities across the country, but the decision has yet to be fully implemented. Only a few hospitals provide specialised cancer treatment.

“Cancer is curable if it is diagnosed and treated at an early stage,” Dr Shrestha said. “But most patients are diagnosed at a late stage, when the chances of survival lessen.”

Due to a lack of access and limited knowledge about services available in the country, most Nepalis travel to India for treatment. Experts say the relevant authorities should launch nationwide awareness campaigns and ensure that services are at least available at all provincial hospitals.

The government has included the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in the routine immunisation list and decided to inoculate all girls aged 10 years with the vaccine to prevent cervical cancer caused by HPV.

HPV is a major cause of cervical cancer and deaths among women in Nepal.

The World Health Organization says HPV is responsible for more than 70 per cent of cervical cancers in women. Cervical cancer also happens to be the second most common cancer in the developing world. Early treatment prevents up to 80 per cent of this disease.

Along with the HPV vaccine, cancer patients receive 100,000 rupees (S$880) from the federal government and an equal amount from provincial governments to help cover treatment costs. THE KATHMANDU POST/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK