New Delhi: In 2022, India witnessed more than 14.1 lakh new cancer cases and over 9.1 lakh deaths due to the disease. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), breast cancer was the most common type of cancer in India at that time.
For men, cancers of the lip, oral cavity, and lung were the most prevalent, accounting for 15.6 per cent and 8.5 per cent of new cases, respectively. In women, breast and cervix cancers were the most frequent, making up close to 27 per cent and 18 per cent of the new cases, respectively, as estimated by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), WHO’s cancer agency.
The number of people alive within 5 years following a cancer diagnosis in India was estimated to be nearly 32.6 lakhs. Globally, the agency estimated 2 crore new cancer cases and 97 lakh deaths, with about 5.3 crore people alive within 5 years following a cancer diagnosis. The WHO stated that approximately 1 in 5 people develop cancer in their lifetime, and roughly 1 in 9 men and 1 in 12 women die from the disease.
The risk of developing cancer before turning 75 in India was calculated to be 10.6 per cent, with a 7.2 per cent risk of dying from cancer by the same age. Globally, these risks were 20% and 9.6 per cent, respectively.
The WHO highlighted that a majority of countries do not adequately finance priority cancer and palliative care services as part of universal health coverage (UHC). Of the participating 1150countries, only 39 per cent covered the basics of cancer management as part of their financed core health services for all citizens – ‘health benefit packages’ (HBP) – and only 28 per cent additionally covered care for people requiring palliative care, including pain relief in general, the UN public health agency found.
The IARC’s estimates showed that 10 types of cancer collectively comprised around two-thirds of new cases and deaths globally in 2022. Their data included 185 countries and 36 cancers.
The analysis found lung cancer to be the most commonly occurring cancer (12.4 per cent of total new cases) and also the leading cause of cancer death, accounting for almost 19 per cent of the total cancer deaths.
Persistent tobacco use in Asia could be a likely reason behind the re-emergence of lung cancer as the most common cancer, the cancer agency said.
Breast cancer in women was the second most commonly occurring one (11.6 per cent of total new cases) and accounted for nearly 7 per cent of the global cancer deaths, the IARC found.
Their figures also showed that cervical cancer was the eighth most commonly occurring cancer globally and the ninth leading cause of cancer death. It was also found to be the most common cancer in women in 25 countries, many of which are in sub-Saharan Africa. The IARC said that cervical cancer can be eliminated as a public health problem, through the scale-up of the WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, whilst acknowledging the varying incidence levels of the disease.
In August 2020, the World Health Assembly adopted the Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination. The initiative, termed the WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative, urged all countries to reach and maintain an incidence rate of below 4 per 1 lakh women.
For achieving the goal, the UN agency strongly advised fully inoculating 90 per cent of girls with the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine before they turned 15 years old, screening 70 per cent of women by the age of 35 and again by 45, and treating 90 per cent of women with pre-cancer, along with managing 90 per cent of women with invasive cancer.
Each country should meet these 90-70-90 targets by 2030 to get on the path to eliminate cervical cancer within the next century, the WHO said in the initiative.
Continent-wise, the IARC found that the age-standardised incidence rate for all cancers was the highest in Oceania with 409 per 1 lakh people, followed by Northern America and Europe with 365 per 1 lakh people and 280 per 1 lakh people, respectively.
UN-region wise, it was the highest in Australia-New Zealand region at more than 400 per 1 lakh people, followed by Northern America.
The IARC analysis also found that the age-standardised rate of deaths per 1 lakh people was the highest in Europe at 82, followed by Africa at 72 and Asia at 69.
The risk of developing cancer before turning 75 years old was the highest in Oceania at about 38 per cent, followed by Northern America at 34 per cent and Europe at almost 28 per cent, the agency estimated. However, death risk from cancer was the highest in Europe at 11.5 per cent and second highest in Asia and Oceania at 9.3 per cent.
The IARC has predicted over 35 million new cancer cases in 2050, an increase of 77 per cent from the estimated 20 million cases in 2022.
The agency said that globally, the rapidly growing cancer burden reflected both population ageing and growth, along with changes in people’s exposure to risk factors, several of which are associated with socioeconomic development. Tobacco, alcohol and obesity were key factors behind the increasing incidence of cancer, with air pollution still a key driver of environmental risk factors, it said.
Rohit Malhotra is a medical expert and health journalist who offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. His articles aim to help readers lead healthier lives.
