BSMMU is the center of excellence for pediatric cancer-related research and treatment. 15th February is world childhood cancer day. Like the previous year, this day is celebrated for awareness-building worldwide. Childhood cancer is sometimes preventable and with proper treatment cure rate is about 70% for ALL in our country. But poor people cannot afford the treatment due to insufficient resources and high costs. Also, the latest treatment facility is always not available in Govt hospital. Some private hospitals have started bone marrow transplantation which is now fairly common in developed countries. A lot of children visit the neighboring country India for treatment purposes.
Cancer Day Rally
International Child Cancer Day-2023 was celebrated today on 15 February 2023 at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU). A scientific seminar on “Bone Marrow Transplantation in Children and Cancer Vaccine in Childhood Malignancy” and an awareness procession were held in front of D-Block on the occasion of the day on Wednesday morning at 9 am at the 2nd-floor auditorium in the E-Block of the University under the initiative of the Department of Pediatric Hematology. Honorable Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr. was present as the chief guest at these events. Professor Dr. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Dean Professor Dr. Mohammad Hossain, Proctor Professor Dr. Md. Habibur Rahman Dulal, Hall Provost Professor Dr. SM Mustafa Zaman, Chairman of the children’s department, Professor Dr. Manik Kumar Talukder and other teachers, doctors, residents, officers and employees of the said department were present. The Chairman of the Child Hematology and oncology Department Dr. ATM Atiqur Rahman chaired the event. Dr. Sunil Bhat, a senior consultant from Narayana Health City Bangalore, India presented a paper titled “Bone Marrow Transplantation in Children” and Dr. Renesa Islam, a senior resident from the department presented “Cancer Vaccine in Childhood Malignancy”.
It was said in the seminar that today 15th February is World Child Cancer Day. The number of children with cancer is increasing every year. Children are generally more likely to develop blood cancer or leukemia than other cancers. But also the number of children suffering from kidney tumors, liver tumors, eye tumors, and brain tumors is not less. According to World Child Cancer, around 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer every year. 70% of patients can recover if detected early and receive advanced treatment. Due to the use of advanced treatment methods, the rate of patients recovering from cancer in developed countries is about 80-85 percent. So in today’s discussion advanced treatment methods like bone marrow transplantation and the use of cancer vaccines and their benefits are discussed in detail.
Bone marrow transplantation or stem cell replacement is a procedure in which damaged or diseased bone marrow is replaced with healthy blood-forming stem cells. Two types of bone marrow transplantation: autologous transplant (harvesting stem cells from one’s own body) and allogeneic transplant (harvesting stem cells from a donor). Bone marrow transplantation or stem cell transplantation is an effective treatment for relapsed lymphocytic leukemia, severe lymphocytic leukemia, refractory hematological malignancies, neuroblastoma, and some other serious cancers. Treatment success rates have increased as a result of the use of this method in the developed world. Treatment using this method has also started in Bangladesh. But it could not be started in full swing yet due to various constraints. Therefore, in today’s discussion about how to successfully apply this method by removing those limitations, Dr. Sunil Bhatt a senior consultant from India. has given a very nice and logical discussion.
A separate vaccine for a specific tumor in the child’s body is also fast, effective, and without side effects. Messenger RNA technology holds such promise in the fight against cancer. Cancer vaccines are among modern efforts to prime the immune system to use its own abilities to fight tumors. “New messenger RNA vaccines are trying to make the immune system so strong that it can fight tumors on its own. Unlike conventional vaccination, in this case, the dead part of the enemy is not introduced into the special body Instead, tumor-specific protein structures are injected into muscle cells. According to the instructions of that structure, the body uses its own abilities to create the building blocks of the tumor. The body’s immune system then recognizes it as foreign and produces antibodies. Preparations for the struggle began with Kechin as the opponent. In this case, the production process is changed. The entire process is produced in the patient’s body rather than through a lab or complex technology. As a result, the body can accept it better and the immune system can recognize it in the same way. Cure Vac in Tübingen, Germany, and Moderna in the US are also using messenger RNA technology. This technology can be very effective in fighting cancer. The initiative aims to isolate and rapidly develop vaccines for tumor patients in the future. It will be a real milestone if the cancer vaccine is successfully implemented. As a result, a whole new field of significance and potential effectiveness is being opened up. This initiative is expected to bear fruit within the next few years. Oncologists around the world hope that this new technology will become a powerful tool in the fight against cancer. Darenesaislam describes the use of cancer vaccines in childhood malignancies and their results simply and beautifully. Which will give us hope to fight cancer in the future.
List of Common Childhood Cancers and Tumors
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Honorable Vice-Chancellor Dr. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed said, with the support of world-renowned health institutions, the initiative of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University will be taken to develop a vaccine to prevent cancer. At the same time, research activities on how to prevent cancer should be strengthened. Research activities on stem cell therapy should continue. Bone marrow transplantation should be implemented. In a program organized on the occasion of International Child Cancer Day on Wednesday, the Honorable Vice-Chancellor also said that the doctors of the Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University had served 10,000 children with a 31-bed ward, which deserves praise
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