The number of new cases of cancer in northern Thailand is higher than the national average, with high levels of hazardous particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) believed to trigger mutations that lead to the disease, a local physician says.
Dr Suthipong Treeratana made the comment in a post that was widely shared on social media on Saturday, after Dr Krittai Tanasombatkul, a 28-year-old medical teacher at Chiang Mai University, was recently diagnosed with extensive-stage lung cancer.
The young teacher said he had engaged in regular exercise, adopted clean eating, followed a healthy sleep schedule and has never smoked. He was later diagnosed with cancer after developing a bad cough and breathing difficulties, he said on his Facebook page on Thursday.
The age-standardised (ASR) rate for cancer in the entire northern region was 162.8, exceeding the rate in Bangkok of 143.8, Dr Suthipong said, referring to a study titled "Trends in Cancer Incidence and Mortality in Northern Thailand, 1993-2017" by Lampang Cancer Hospital.
Lung cancer was the second most prevalent primary cancer behind liver and bile duct cancer in the North, the same as in the Northeast, he said.
If the figures exclude those who regularly eat spicy raw beef salad, or larb dib, lung cancer would likely top the list, the physician added.
Last year, Chiang Mai was ranked as the having the third most polluted air in the world, with an average PM2.5 dust level higher than 200. Any reading above 35 is considered unhealthy.
