Cancer in India: A status report

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health/Diseases

Context:

Deaths due to cancer have declined by 33% in the United States since 1991, according to a report by the American Cancer Society.

Cancer in India:

Both the incidence of cancer and mortality continue to rise in the country.
The rate of cervical and smoking-related cancers has gone down, and the incidence of lung breast cancers has increased.
- Cervical cancer cases declined due to late marriages, fewer children, better hygiene and vaccination. Cervical cancer can be prevented with HPV (human papillomavirus) vaccine.
- Breast cancer cases have gone up due to the same reasons.
Most common cancer: Lung, mouth, prostate, tongue and stomach.

Incidence of cancer and mortality in the country:

14.6 lakh new cases in 2022
14.2 lakh in 2021, and 13.9 lakh in 2020.
Deaths due to cancer increased to about 8.08 lakh in 2022 from 7.9 lakh in 2021 and 7.7 lakh in 2020.
One in nine Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime.
One in 68 men will develop lung cancer and one in 29 women will develop breast cancer.
The incidence of cancer is higher among women- 103.6 per 100,000 in 2020, compared to 94.1 among men.