Barriers related to Oral Cancer Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment in Karnataka, India.

Background: The most predominant cancer in India is Oral cancer. Annually 130,000 people yield to oral cancer in India, which translates into about 14 deaths per hour and 60-80% of patients present with advanced disease as compared to 40% in developed countries.

Aim: To decide factors associated with primary, secondary and tertiary delays and identify reasons for a lack of follow-up.

Materials and methods: This study was conducted at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru. A hospitalbased cross-sectional study using the direct personal interview method was done. A total of 200 oral cancer patients were included in the study.

Results: 34.5% were men and 65.5% were women. About 97.5% of patients were engaged with either one of the habits like smoking, chewing or alcohol consumption. 84% of patients were not aware of the risk of getting oral cancer. 29% of people agreed that tobacco and alcohol are risk factors for oral cancer and they know about the signs of oral cancer. If detected early, cure rates were higher compared to illiterate people and this difference is statistically significant p< 0.05. 83.5% of patients did not know that oral cancer can be diagnosed early by regular screening of the oral cavity. The cost of staying near a Regional cancer centre, job security, and the social and economic burden on relatives were significant barriers to incomplete treatment and a decreased follow-up rate.

Conclusion: Low awareness is the main barrier to oral cancer detection. Conducting cancer awareness and screening camps frequently will detect oral cancers at an early stage.

Key words: Oral Cancer, Barriers, Cancer awareness, Oral Screening.