According to a recent clinical study, India’s global contribution of head and neck cancer patients is approximately about 60%, out of these on an about 80,000 cases annually are caused by oral cancer.

The study reveals that due to owing to the increased use of tobacco among Indians, there are the increased cases of head and neck cancer that are inside the mouth, the nose, and the throat. And according to health experts, it is expected to double by 2030.

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After this, some of the health experts stated that “Global contribution of head and neck cancer patients is 57.5% in India. Out of these 80,000 cases annually are cases of oral cancer,” said Kumar Prabhash from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai.

“Tobacco is one of the major cause behind these cases of head and neck cancers. And we are estimating the number of cases to double by 2030,” added Sumit Goyal from Department of Medical Oncology at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute in New Delhi.

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The clinical study was presented at the annual conference of the American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), in Chicago, led by Prabhash. Prabhash concluded that a molecule named Nimotuzumab along with chemo-radiotherapy could be an effective and better treatment against head and neck cancers.

Nimotuzumab is the first developed by biotechnology firm Biocon and introduced in India as the BIOMAb EGFR for head and neck cancer in 2006.

The clinical study was examined on 536 locally advanced head and neck cancer patients of 18 to 80 age. The results depict that patients who were offered Nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin drug (used for chemotherapy) and radiation, survived three times more than those who received only chemo and radiation.

The Biomab has a unique bivalent binding, due to which it binds primarily at the site of cancer cells where there is overexpression of the EGFR protein. This can be significant since this mechanism of action of Biomab ensures that only the cancerous cells are destroyed, unlike other targeted agents, ensuring that it does not cause additional toxicity.

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