CANCER IS ON THE RISE IN INDIA: COULD AIR POLLUTION BE A FACTOR?

India reports about 75,000 new cases of lung cancer each year, this is projected to go up to 1 lakh cases, calling for urgent action

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Over the past decade or so, air pollution has been increasingly spoken about in India, particularly in the context of the deterioration of air quality across large parts of the country, especially in the winter months. The air we breathe is known to be linked to respiratory illnesses and even cardiac disease, but now, experts say, there is also a strong association with a disease that is a rising burden in India: cancer.

The scale of the cancer burden in India

Cancer numbers are rising, and rising fast in India. The Indian Council of Medical Research-National Cancer Registry Programme has projected that the number of cancer cases in the country will spike from 14.6 lakh in 2022 to 15.7 lakh in 2025. Approximately one in nine people in India is expected to face a cancer diagnosis during their lifetime, the ICMR estimates.

Cancer ranks second when it comes to non-communicable diseases that cause deaths in India. Lung cancer is the second-most common cancer among men in India, and also figures amongst the top five when it comes to women. Globally, it is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, accounting for the highest mortality rates among both men and women.

Over the past two decades, doctors say there has been a concerning pattern emerging in India: a rise in the number of non-smoking lung cancer cases.