Rising cancer rates in India: Cases of mouth and breast cancer have increased
India is grappling with rising rates of cancer, especially oral cancer in men and breast cancer in women, according to a comparative study by ICMR.
India is facing the crisis of increasing rates of cancer, especially oral cancer.
According to a study by ICMR-National Center for Disease Informatics and Research, India’s top research agency, the highest proportion of lip and mouth cancers are diagnosed in men, while breast cancer accounts for the highest proportion in women.
Researchers published a comparative study in the eCancer journal about the impact on cancer cases, deaths and quality of life (measured by DALYs) in the BRICS countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
The findings revealed how common cancer is in the BRICS countries, how many people die from it and how much it affects the daily lives of people in these countries.
According to the findings, Russia has the highest rate of new cancer cases in both men and women. For men in Russia, the most common types of cancer were prostate, lung and colorectal cancer.
However, lip and mouth cancer is most commonly diagnosed in men in India. For women, breast cancer was the predominant type in most BRICS countries.
However, in China, lung cancer was more common in women.
South Africa recorded the highest cancer death rates for both men and women. Russia has the highest number of cancer-related deaths among men, while South Africa leads in cancer-related deaths among women.
When it comes to cancer-related deaths, lung cancer was the top cause in all BRICS countries except India.
Breast cancer was responsible for the highest number of deaths in India. The impact of cancer, particularly in terms of years of life lost, across the country was mostly due to lung-related cancers, such as cancers of the trachea and bronchus.
India, again, was an exception, where breast cancer had the greatest impact.
Looking to the future, South Africa and India are expected to experience the largest increases in new cancer cases and cancer-related deaths in the coming years, according to the researchers.
According to the study, “Although BRICS countries anticipate sustained economic growth and have viable cancer control plans, it is necessary to examine cancer risk factors and the health systems that influence cancer incidence and outcomes.”
A study published in Cancer Epidemiology showed that BRICS countries account for 42% of global cancer-related deaths. China experienced the highest total productivity loss at $28 billion, while South Africa had the highest cost per cancer death at $101,000.
“Our analysis shows a sharp increase in cancer cases and deaths between 2022 and 2045 in India and South Africa. Cancer cases in India are expected to increase by 12.8% in 2025 compared to 2020 and cancer The incidence of “continues to rise,” the authors wrote.
The projected increase in the number of cancer cases can be linked to the increase in life expectancy at birth, a trend observed in all BRICS countries from 2000 to 2022.
