MUMBAI: The number of cancer cases countrywide has gone up in the last six years by 15.7%. Data shared by Indian Council of Medical Research’s National Institute of Cancer Prevention and Research on Wednesday showed that 11.5 lakh cancer cases were reported across the country this year, as against 10 lakh in 2012.

Experts from Tata Memorial Hospital (Parel) said the increase was not alarming as it can be explained with factors such as increased population and better diagnostic techniques. As per the new data, cancer-related deaths also increased by 12%. While 7 lakh Indians died of cancer-related complications in 2012, the number increased to 7.8 lakh this year.

ICMR cancer centre director Dr Ravi Mehrotra said lip and oral cavity cancers increased by a whopping 114% in the six-year period. Breast cancer , emerging as a disease linked to urban lifestyle, increased by almost 11%, from 1.4 lakh in 2012 to 1.6 lakh in 2018.

These numbers are estimates provided by web-based Globocan programme that was developed by International Agency for Research on Cancer and World Health Organisation. IARC released the 2018 estimates recently.

The silver lining in the estimates is the sharp decrease in cases of cervical cancer, which until a decade back was the No. 1 cancer among Indian women. Globocan data showed a 21% fall in cervical cancer cases, from 1.23 lakh in 2012 to 96 in 2018.

Dr Mehrotra said, “An increase in awareness, better screening and treatment facilities, later age of marriage, fewer pregnancies and improved hygiene leading to fewer infections are some key factors contributing to this decline in cervical cancer cases.”

Dr Rajesh Dikshit, who heads Tata Memorial Centre’s epidemiology department said the incidence of cervical cancer had started decreasing in Mumbai many years back. “A decade back, the incidence in Mumbai was 17 cases for every 100,000 population, but the incidence has now dropped to 8 per 100,000 in Mumbai,” he said.

ICMR officials said as 18% of the world’s population lived in India, it was important to understand the disease burden of cancer in every state of India. ICMR released an elaborate state-wise data of cancer along with medical journal, ‘ The Lancet ’, last month.

