Cancer cases in India to increase by 25% by 20202

New cancer cases or its incidence in India is estimated to grow by 25% by 2020, according to the cancer registry released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

While new cases in Delhi have increased rapidly since 2008-09, the burden in northeastern states is also high. Cancer cases in India are expected to jump from around 14 lakh in 2016 to over 17.3 lakh by 2020.

Deaths due to cancer are projected to go up from 7.36 lakh to over 8.8 lakh in the next four years.

Breast, lung and cervical cancer have topped the list of new cases. Over 1.5 lakh new breast cancer cases were estimated during 2016, which is over 10% of total cases. Cancer of the lungs is second with estimated 1.14 lakh new cases (83,000 in males and 31,000 in females) during 2016.

Incidence of breast cancer is projected to go up to 1.9 lakh by 2020, whereas new lung cancer cases are likely to increase to 1.4 lakh cases in the next four years.

Data revealed that only 12.5% of patients come for treatment in their early stages.

While there is huge regional disparity , the Northeast reported the highest number of cases in both males and females. Aizwal district in Mizoram recorded the highest number of cancer cases among males while Papumpare district in Arunachal Pradesh reported the highest rate of the disease among women.