Uneven burden

Cancer incidence in India reveals gendered disparities, regional hotspots and rising rural risks

- ROHINI KRISHNAMURTHY, VIBHA VARSHNEY AND VIVEK MISHRA, DELHI

WOMEN ACCOUNTED for more than half of the over 708,000 cancer cases recorded in India in 2015-19.

In contrast, 55 per cent of the 200,000 cancer deaths recorded during this period were among men. While women in Hyderabad account for the most breast cancer cases, men in Srinagar record the most lung cancer cases. These trends from the latest analysis on cancer in India pose questions on the risks the disease poses across genders, regions and socioeconomic areas.

Overall, a person living in the country faces an 11 per cent lifetime risk of developing cancer, says the study published in JAMA Network Open on August 20 by the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) Investigator Group, a collaborative body of scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR'S) National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research in Bengaluru and other regional centres. The researchers use data from 43 population-based cancer registries (PCBRS) across India, covering about 18 per cent of the total population.

The analysis also says that in 2024, the PCBRS registered 1.56 million cases, with both men and women reporting over 780,000 new cases each. However, the crude incidence rate (CIR) among men was 107.4, marginally lower than the 113.3 CIR among women. CIR is the number of new cases in a specified population per year, usually expressed as the number of cases per 100,000 population at risk. A similar trend was observed in previous years too. A 2020 study by NCRP, published in the journal JCO Global Oncology with data from 28 PCBRS, notes a crude rate (cases per 100,000 population) of 94.1 among men and 103.6 among women for all types of cancer.

Research points to several reasons for women in India facing a higher cancer risk. A 2022 study published in the journal