SectorWatch

Maharashtra Medical Foundation's Oral Cancer Detection and Prevention Clinic Inaugurated

The dental department of Maharashtra Medical Foundation has started an Oral Cancer Detection and Prevention Clinic at Ratna Memorial Hospital, Pune. A new non-invasive brush biopsy technique will be followed to conduct tests to detect atypical or abnormal pre-cancerous cells from the skin of the mouth or mucous membrane. The brush test requires no anaesthesia, causes no pain and has minimal or no bleeding. Patients found positive after the test would be referred to the panel of expert oral and maxillofacial surgeons for further treatment. Another test called Oral CDX would be carried out by sending the brush biopsy sample to the US, if necessary. In case of the test being conducted by the Oral CDX method, the analysis of that sample will be carried out at a specialised laboratory in the US, where highly sophisticated computers are used to help detect abnormal cells. A complete report will be faxed to the dental department at Ratna Memorial Hospital, Pune. India has the highest prevalence of oral cancer in the world and a detection programme will go a long way in reducing the incidence of oral cancer. For instance, the use of Oral CDX Brush Test by over 30,000 US dentists has resulted in the detection of over 10,000 pre-cancerous spots well before they could turn into a problem.

EH News Bureau