Women accounted for a higher proportion of cancer cases, and men for deaths due to it
Northeast India’s Aizawl, East Khasi
Hills, Papumpare, Kamrup Urban, and Mizoram consistently recorded the highest
rates of cancer between 2015 and 2019, according to a study. The
cross-sectional study used data from 43 population-based cancer registries (PBCRs)
across India.
Between January 1, 2015, and December 31,
2019, as many as 7.08 lakh cancer cases and 2.06 lakh deaths were reported from
43 PBCRs across India. Women accounted for a higher proportion of cancer cases,
and men for deaths due to it.
Women
comprised 51.1 per cent of the total cancer cases and 45 per cent of the
deaths. Men, on the other hand, accounted for 48.9 per cent of the disease
incidents and 55 per cent of the deaths due to it.
The study obtained
population-at-risk data from the Census of India, and the findings were
assessed by registry area.
According
to the study, the lifetime risk of developing cancer in India was 11.0 per
cent.
However, in Mizoram, the reported lifetime
risk was a staggering 21.1 per cent in males and 18.9 per cent in females.
Aizawl district reported the highest age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) in both
males and females.
The most
common types of cancers were oral, lung, and prostate in males and breast,
cervical, and ovarian in females, the study found.
Among
metropolitan cities — with a population of over 1 million — Delhi had the
highest overall cancer AAIR for males, while Srinagar recorded the highest AAIR
for lung cancer.
Oral
cancer showed significant increases in 14 PBCRs among males and four PBCRs
among females.
The
analysis revealed a distinct pattern in the leading cancer sites across India.
Among males, lung cancer emerged as the most frequently diagnosed form of the
disease in the southern regions and metropolitan cities, including
Visakhapatnam, Bengaluru, Malabar, Kollam, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, and
Delhi.
A previous
study had found that patients in India tend to present with lung cancer about a
decade earlier than those in Western populations, with a median age ranging
from 54 to 70 years.
Additionally,
half of the patients were diagnosed with advanced-stage disease. A systematic
review and meta-analysis on tobacco use revealed a significantly higher risk of
respiratory system cancers.
Mouth
cancer is the predominant form of cancer in western (Ahmedabad Urban, Bhopal,
Nagpur, and Wardha), central (Barshi Rural, Mumbai, Aurangabad, Osmanabad and
Beed, Pune, Sindhudurg, and Ratnagiri), and certain northern (Prayagraj and
Varanasi) regions, the study found.
It
underlined that since tobacco and alcohol use are major risk factors, it is
vital to promote widespread education about their harmful effects. Furthermore,
quitline services and the implementation of early detection programs are
critical for effective prevention and control.
In India,
breast, cervical, and ovarian cancers have been consistently ranked among the
top three most common forms of cancers in women, with disparities observed in
survival rates for breast and cervical cancers.
The
increasing incidence of breast cancer and decreasing incidence of cervical
cancer were more associated with generational shifts in risk factors than
period effects, the researchers said.
Effective
cancer control in India requires coordinated efforts, focusing on public
awareness, prevention, and early detection. Awareness campaigns help reduce
stigma and encourage timely health-seeking behaviour, the study underlined.
Beyond
prevention, upgrading existing cancer care facilities and expanding services in
high-incidence regions is vital to ensure equitable access to quality and
affordable care.
However,
cancer care delivery faces challenges, including regional disparities,
socioeconomic inequalities, low awareness, and varied health-seeking patterns.
Addressing
these issues requires a collaborative, data-driven approach to build equitable
and accessible cancer care across India, it stated.
Globally,
cancer contributes to approximately 10 million deaths each year. In 2022,
Global Cancer Observatory (GCO) pegged the total number of cancer cases
worldwide at approximately 20.0 million and projected these to increase to 32.6
million by 2045.
The
Southeast Asia region is estimated to have a total of 2.4 million new cancer
cases and 1.5 million cancer deaths.
Cancer incidence and mortality in this
region are estimated to increase to 4 million new cases and 2.7 million deaths
by 2045. Concurrently, the GCO estimated that the incidence of cancer in India
will increase to approximately 2.46 million cases by 2045.
India
ranks second in Asia and third in the world in terms of the number of cancer
cases, and the likelihood of developing cancer during one’s lifetime is
approximately 11 per cent.
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