India's cancer cases could witness 12% surge in 5 years
As India continues to battle the novel coronavirus pandemic, concerns have been raised over another major health condition: Cancer. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has published a study warning that the number of cancer cases in the country is likely to witness a significant 12% surge in the next 5 years. Here's all you need to know about it.
Cases likely to touch 16 lakh in 5 years
In its latest National Cancer Registry Program Report, ICMR has projected that the number of Indians suffering from the potentially deadly disease could increase from 13.9 lakh in 2020 to 15.7 lakh by 2025. The organization settled on the figure by conducting a detailed analysis of cancer-related trends in partnership with the National Center for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR) in Bengaluru.
Information from population and hospital cancer registries
As part of the study, organizations looked at the trends - declines and increases - in the cancer-related information gathered by a network of 28 Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) and 58 Hospital-Based Cancer Registries (HBCRs).
Tobacco-related cancer cases highest in 2020
ICMR found that tobacco-related cancer cases are the highest in number, making up as much as 27.1% of India's 13.9 lakh cases. It is followed by the cancer of the gastrointestinal tract and breast, which are the next most prevalent ones with as much as 19.7% and 14.8% of the total cases, respectively. Meanwhile, cervix cancer cases make 5.4% of the burden.
Types of cancer men and women are more susceptible to
According to the data, cancer related to tobacco as well as those of lung, mouth, stomach, and oesophagus are more common in men, while cancer of breast and cervix uteri are more prevalent in women. "A significant increase in the incidence rates of breast cancers in women, and lung and head and neck cancers in both men and women was observed," the report said.
Declining trend for cancer of the cervix
"A declining trend was seen for cancer of the cervix," the report said, adding that "Cancers of lung were diagnosed at a stage of spread to distant sites, while cancers of head, neck, stomach, breast, and cervix were in higher proportions with a loco-regional spread."
What about the distribution of cases?
According to the report, for men, the cancer incidence rate, per 1,00,000 people, ranges between 269.4 in Mizoram's capital Aizawl (highest to be noted in India) and 39.5 in Maharashtra's Osmanabad and Beed districts. Meanwhile, for women, the rate ranges from 219.8 in Arunachal Pradesh's Papumpare district to 49.4 in Osmanabad & Beed districts per 1,00,000 population.
How cases could increase by 2025
On the basis of these trends, the report estimates that the cases of cancer in men will increase from 6,79,421 in 2020 to 7,63,575 by 2025 while those in women will go from 7,12,758 in 2020 to 8,06,218 by 2025. Evidently, the condition can be somewhat contained through a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy.
