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What is the News?
Indian Council for Medical Research(ICMR) has released a report titled ‘Burden of cancers in India’.
What are the key findings of the report?
Cancer Cases in India in 2021
The number of Indians suffering from cancer in 2021 was around 26.7 million.
The highest incidence was in the North (2,408 patients per 100,000) and the Northeast (2,177 per 100,000).
Cancer cases were higher among men. Seven Cancers accounted for more than 40% of the total disease burden: lung (10.6%), breast (10.5%), oesophagus (5.8%), mouth (5.7%), stomach (5.2%), liver (4.6%) and cervix uteri (4.3%).
Mizoram, Delhi and Meghalaya had the highest cancer Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) and the most vulnerable demographic are people in the 65–69-year age group.
Note: DALY is a measure of overall disease burden expressed as the number of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death.
Future Projections on Cancer Cases in India
The number of Indians suffering from cancer is projected to increase to 29.8 million in 2025 from 26.7 million in 2021.
What are the major factors that are contributing to the increased risk of cancers?
The factors that are increasing the risk of cancer are: 1) Tobacco and alcohol consumption, 2) increasing consumption of packaged food with harmful preservatives and junk food, 3) obesity, 4) radiation from mobile phone towers, 5) vegetables grown in toxic water like rivers near industries, 6) adulteration in food and artificial colouring of food and vegetables.
Source: The post is based on the article “India’s Cancer Burden to rise to 29.8 million in 2025: ICMR” published in Livemint on 13th May 2022.
