CANCER IN INDIA
Deaths due to cancer have declined by 33% in the United States since 1991, according to a report by the American Cancer Society released last week. This has translated into 3.8 million fewer deaths, the report said, and attributed the success to early detection, lower rates of smoking, and improvements in cancer treatment.
This trend is yet to be reflected in India. Even with improvements in treatment, both the incidence of cancer and mortality continue to rise in the country.
2.Key takeaways
A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, record a steep reduction of 65% in the rates of cervical cancer in women in their early 20s between 2012 and 2019, the first cohort to receive the human papillomavirus vaccine (HPV) vaccine
Doctors confirmed that the rates of cervical and smoking-related cancers have gone down in India as well; however, the incidence of lung and breast cancers has increased
3.Incidence of Cancer and mortality in India
- An estimated 14.6 lakh new cancer cases were detected in 2022, up from 14.2 lakh in 2021 and 13.9 lakh in 2020, as per data from the National Cancer Registry of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) presented in Parliament.
- Deaths due to cancer increased to an estimated 8.08 lakh in 2022 from 7.9 lakh in 2021 and 7.7 lakh in 2020. The incidence of all cancers is estimated to increase to 15.7 lakh by 2025, according to the data.
- One in nine Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime, according to an ICMR study using data from population-based cancer registries
- One in 68 men will develop lung cancer and one in 29 women will develop breast cancer, according to the study.
- The incidence of cancer is higher among women 103.6 per 100,000 in 2020 compared to 94.1 among men
- Among men, the most common cancers were of the lung, mouth, prostate, tongue, and stomach; for women, they were breast, cervix, ovary, uterus, lung.
4.To bring down overall mortality like in the US
- The first intervention has to be screening
- Screening for the three most common types of cancer- breast, cervical, and oral has already started through the government’s upgraded health and wellness centres
- Cervical, breast, and oral cancers account for 34% of cancers in India, so screening for them is good
- However, it has to be more focused in order to achieve mortality gains
- There are several programmes of the government that are working independently and in silos
- They need to be coordinated so that once a person is screened, they do reach a hospital
5.Way forward
Cancer has overtaken cardiac issues as the leading cause of deaths in the US
In India, cardiac issues are still the leading cause but cancer is number 2
Source:indianexpress
