Medical fraternity in Coimbatore is shocked and dismayed at a press report, carried in a popular Tamil daily (March 21 edition) linking cancer (Ewing sarcoma) and a harmless varicella vaccine (chicken pox vaccine). In a report carried by the said Tamil daily, it is claimed that a 6- year old boy Anbarasu of Kumarapalayam in Erode district had developed Ewing sarcoma ( a form of cancer) after administering varicella jab ( chicken pox vaccine).

The report in the daily while appealing to the readers to help the parents of the child to meet their medical expenses also elaborates how the said boy, the only son of a daily wage labourer, Radhakrishnan and his wife Suseela had a 3 kg of tumour growth on his right leg, for which the doctors have suggested amputation as the only remedy.

What is confounding to the medical fraternity is the report that a harmless varicella vaccine could lead to a dangerous and cancerous growth in a six year old, without any medical basis to prove the claim by the Tamil daily.

Doctors and experts who talked to the Covai Post have condemned the irresponsible reporting in one voice and said that such callous reporting might led to panic among the general population on the sensitive issue of vaccination.

Dr. J. Mariano Anto Bruno Mascarenhas , speaking to Covai Post said that the child suffers from a bone tumour called Ewing’s Sarcoma. Ewing’s sarcoma or Ewing sarcoma is a malignant tumor. The most common areas in which it occurs are the pelvis, the femur, the humerus, the ribs and clavicle (collar bone).The tumour has affected the right thigh bone of the child, Anbarasan

“The doctor further said that even though the child had been evaluated at the age of 2 years , which led to the right diagnosis, and advised surgery, his parents had however refused to let the child undergo surgery. Following which the child was given chemotherapy. It is learnt that the parents and relatives have taken the child to a quack and wasted money and time even as the tumour grew in size” the doctor said.

“This tumour is not related to vaccines at all. Most cases of Ewing’s sarcoma (85%) are the result of a translocation between chromosomes 11 and 22, which fuses the EWS gene of chromosome 22 to the FLI1 gene of chromosome 11. This is congenital which means that the child is born with a faulty gene and hence developed tumour.Linking this cancer with vaccines is incorrect as vaccines are no way related to the tumour ” he said

Dr. Ilangovan Veerappan of K.G. Hospital, said that there is no proven link so far to link a vaccine jab with cancer. Citing the discredited case of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s to prove his point Dr. Illangovan Veerappan said that Dr. Andrew Wakefield, a U.K doctor, who had published an article in “Lancet,” had falsely proposed to link between MMR vaccine with autism and bowel diseases, which was later found to be a spurious claim for which his medical licence was canceled.

But the flip side is, right after the article appeared in Lancet, the numerous mothers balked at the triple jab. The panic was mostly witnessed in the middle classes. About 30,000 school kids had forgone taking the MMR jab in 1998. Later it was found out that Dr. Andrew Wakefield had used false data to arrive at the conclusion.” said Ilangovan Veerappan.

Warning the media to behave in a more responsible way Dr. Illangovan Veerappan said “Sensitive issues such as vaccination should be handled with responsibility as it might trigger a panic reaction among general population, more so in rural areas”
Citing that Tamilnadu had already witnessed such a back lash during the recent MMR vaccination drive he said that Health Minister of Tamilnadu C. Vijaya Bhaskar had to warn the rumour -mongers then , who have indulged in such mischief”

Dr. G. Bhakthavatchalam, Chairman of K. G. Hospitals , Coimbatore said ” absolutely there is no possibility to contract cancer from a mere vaccine jab; both are totally unrelated and pathology of cancer is totally different. No existing medical record says that someone contracted cancer just because he took a vaccine jab”
Dr. Y. Arulprakash, another medical Practioner said that the children and teenagers are mostly benefited by vaccination and not the other way round . ” For example children and teen agers are advised to go for HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) vaccine as it protects women against cervical cancer during their reproductive age”

In the meanwhile, Erode District collector, S. Prabhakar, had to speak to the media to dispell the claim made by the said article.