NEW DELHI: One in every nine persons in India is at risk of developing cancer in his or her lifetime, reveals a study carried out by the ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR). It is based on a statistical analysis of the number of new cases of the disease being reported in the country vis-àvis the number of individuals in the population at risk.
According to the study, which has been published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research (IJMR), one in every 67 men ia at risk of developing lung cancer and one in 29 women is at risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime (0-74 years).
It is estimated that 14.6 lakh people were affected by cancer in India in 2022. Lung and breast cancers were the leading sites of cancer in men and women, respectively. Among childhood (0-14 year) cancers, lymphoid leukaemia (boys: 29.2% and girls: 24.2%) was the leading site, the study suggests. “The incidence of cancer cases is estimated to increase by 12.8% in 2025 as compared to 2020,” it adds.
Researchers say the increase in cancer cases was attributable to the changes in population dynamics and its growth. India, they add, is expected to see an increase in the older age (60+) population, and especially their proportion is expected to increase from 8.6% in 2011 to 9.7% in 2022.
“There would be changes in estimated cancer incidence, which depends upon the risk factors, improvement in case findings, introduction of screening programmes and cancer detection and diagnosis techniques,” researchers said.
Estimated cancer cases and mortality due to it have increased in the country between 2020 and 2022, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya told Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The department of health and family welfare provides technical and financial support to states and Union Territories under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) as part of the National Health Mission (NHM), based on the proposals received from the states and subject to the resource envelope, Mandaviya said in reply to a question.
Cancer is an integral part of NPCDCS, the minister said, adding that the programme focusses on strengthening infrastructure, human resource development, health promotion and awareness generation for cancer prevention, early diagnosis, management and referral to an appropriate level of healthcare facility for treatment.
Under NPCDCS, 707 district NCD clinics, 268 district daycare centres, and 5,541 community health centre NCD clinics have been set up. Setting up of National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar (Haryana) and second campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata are also steps in this direction, the minister said.
