The estimates are based on collation of data for the period between 2012 and 2016 and extrapolations from those trends. Information related to cancer was collected from 28 population-based cancer registries and 58 hospital-based cancer registries.
Already, cancer impacts more women than men in terms of overall numbers going by the data from 2016 and it is projected that this will continue in the years to come.
The report released by the Indian Council of Medical Research and the National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research, Bengaluru, projects that the number of male cancer cases this year would be 6.8 lakh while the number of women impacted is pitched at 7.1 lakh. The numbers are projected to reach 7.6 lakh for men and 8.1 lakh for women in 2025.
Breast cancer (2.4 lakh) is expected to be the most common cancer in 2025 followed by lung (1.1 lakh) and mouth (90,000) cancers. Tobacco-related cancers are estimated to constitute 27% of all cancers in India.
As per the report, in 2020, tobacco-related cancers are estimated to contribute 3.7 lakh (27.1%) of the total cancer burden. Among women, breast cancers are estimated to contribute 2 lakh (14.8%) while cervix cancer is estimated to contribute 75,000 (5.4%). For men and women put together, cancers of the gastrointestinal tract are estimated to contribute 2.7 lakh (19.7%) of the total cancer burden.
The cancer incidence rate for the male population ranges from 269.4 per lakh population in Aizawl district (the highest in India) to 39.5 in Osmanabad & Beed districts. Similarly, the incidence rate for women ranges from 219.8 (Papumpare district) to 49.4 (Osmanabad & Beed districts) per lakh population.
Cancers related to the use of any form of tobacco were highest in the north-eastern region of the country and in higher proportions in men. Cancers of the lung, mouth, stomach and oesophagus were the most common cancers among men, while those of the breast and cervix uteri were the most common among women.
The report also records that a significant increase in the incidence rates of breast cancer in women, and lung and head and neck cancers in both men and women was observed in most registries. However, a declining trend was seen in most registries for cancer of the cervix.
Cancers of the lung were typically diagnosed at a stage of spread to distant sites, while higher proportions of cancers of the head & neck, stomach, breast and cervix were detected while the spread was “loco-regional”.
Multimodality treatment (a varied combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy) was administered for cancers of breast and head & neck, while cancer cervix was treated mainly with radiotherapy and chemotherapy. For cancers of the lung and the stomach, systemic therapy was the mode of treatment.
