Petticoat or dhoti cancer: Apollo Hospitals' doctor explains how it affects women and men

This kind of cancer has been reported mostly in older women and men. (Image credit: Pagepress.org, Springer)

Did you know tying a petticoat or dhoti too tightly for years can lead to skin cancer? Chronic friction between the fabric and the skin is a rare cause of skin cancer, a neurologist from Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad highlighted.

Dr Sudhir Kumar said that people who frequently wear sarees and dhotis and wear them for long hours are susceptible to depigmentation and glazing of the skin, scarring, ulceration, and subsequent malignant changes.

"The petticoat is usually tied very tightly around the waist with a cord," he wrote on X. "The tight cord of the petticoat often leads to dermatoses related to chronic friction and maceration, resulting in dermatitis and depigmentation. In rare cases, chronic friction may lead to the development of squamous cell carcinoma."

The doctor advised people to keep an eye out for any skin lesions around the waist and seek medical help when required.

His comments follow the recent publication of a study in BMJ Case Reports in which researchers noted that when wearing a saree, many women tighten their petticoats and this puts a lot of pressure on the abdomen. Over time, skin cancer may result from the petticoat cord's increased pressure and continuous rubbing on the skin.

This kind of cancer has been reported mostly in older women. In one of the cases that made headlines recently, the patient was a 70-year-old woman. A regular saree wearer, she noticed an ulcer on her right side accompanied by pigmentation. The constant pressure from her petticoat cord over the years had led to extensive skin damage and ulcers that were later diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma.

“I wore a tightly wrapped saree for decades, unaware it could harm my health. A minor skin change turned into a painful, non-healing ulcer, eventually diagnosed as skin cancer,” the woman told India Today.