New Delhi: Nearly one in every 10 people aged between 0 to 74 years are at risk of developing cancer in his/her lifetime, a study carried out by the National Cancer Registry Programme Investigator Group (NCRP-IG) has estimated.
According to the study published by JAMA Network Open, the lifetime risk of cancer among both men and women is among the highest in certain districts of north-eastern states like Mizoram, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam.
In Delhi, the lifetime risk of cancer among men and women is estimated to be 16% and 14% respectively. In Gautam Budh Nagar, the cancer risk is estimated to be 15% among men and 14% among women. In Mumbai, the cancer risk was estimated to be 14% for both men and women.
The study is based on a statistical analysis of data from 43 population-based cancer registries across the country, covering varying periods between January 2015 and December 2019.
The most common cancers in men are oral, lung, and prostate and in women, breast, cervical, and ovarian. The study’s authors say their research highlights significant regional disparities in cancer incidence across India and the increasing cancer burden.
“The findings provide key insights for policymakers to enhance resource allocation and strengthen cancer control strategies nationwide,” they add. Timely detection is key to effective management of cancer but, doctors say, most cases in India are still diagnosed late leading to poorer outcomes.
To this end, the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) has recently issued an expression of interest for technologies for early detection and effective management of the disease. One of the innovations being looked at closely by the govt is to use AI algorithms to improve the accuracy of diagnosis by analysing medical images and patient data, sources say.
In terms of treatment technologies, targeted therapy, development of drugs that specifically target cancer cells while sparing healthy tissue and techniques that harness the body’s immune system to fight cancer, including checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cell therapy are in focus.
