New Delhi: While cancer-related deaths have been rising at nearly 3 percent annually over the past decade, the rate of deaths due to malignancies among women has grown faster than among men, a new analysis by scientists from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has shown.
The analysis published in The Lancet Regional Health-Southeast Asia this month has shown that between 2013 and 2022, the annual percent change in cancer related mortality was 4.4 percent in women as compared to 2.4 percent in men.
The report, based on analysis of cancer statistics by the Globocan 2022—a repository maintained by the World Health Organisation-International Agency for Research in Cancer—also says the gap between cancer related mortality between men and women in India is expected to rise further over the next two decades.
Also, the overall incidence rate for all cancers combined is higher in females (104.5 per 100,000) than males (91.5 per 100,000), the figures show.
“The study reveals the disproportionate burden borne by females (due to cancer) in India and identifies the most prevalent cancer types contributing to the majority of incidences and mortalities in both genders (60 percent in females and 44 percent in males),” noted the researchers.
As per Globocan 2022, 14.1 lakh new cancer cases were detected in India that year and with a 5-year prevalence of 16.5 per 100,000 people, female breast cancer was the most prevalent, contributing to 13.8 percent of all new cases.
It was followed by oral (10.3 percent), cervical (9.2 percent), respiratory (5.8 percent), and oesophagus (5 percent) cancers, and together these top-five cancers accounted for more than 64 percent of incidences and 62 percent of mortalities in females.
The pattern of cancer incidence and mortality differed in males.
The five-year prevalence of oral cancer was highest among males and it comprised 16 percent of new cancers among men followed by respiratory (8.6 percent), oesophagus (6.7 percent), colorectum (6.3 percent), and stomach (6.3 percent) cancers.
Experts said that the findings underscore the pressing need for targeted interventions and strategies to address the escalating cancer burden in India.
“Cancer incidence and mortality rates are higher among Indian women than men due to delayed diagnosis, limited healthcare access, and sociocultural barriers,” Dr Sachin Sekhar Biswal, medical oncologist with Manipal Hospital in Bhubaneswar, told ThePrint.
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‘In coming decades, India will face a formidable challenge’
The ICMR researchers find that approximately three out of five individuals diagnosed with cancer in India would be expected to succumb to the disease.
In both men and women, respiratory and esophageal cancers had a mortality rate of 92.9 per 100 new diagnoses. The data also shows that children and individuals of reproductive age have a 0.12-2.38 percent chance of developing cancer and a 0.08–1.38 percent chance of dying from it.
However, middle-aged and geriatric individuals have a higher 8.34-10.31 percent chance of developing cancer with a 5.53-7.68 percent chance of dying from it.
“In the coming two decades, India will face a formidable challenge in managing cancer incidence-related mortalities, which will increase with an annual percent change (APC) of 2 percent as the population of India gets older,” researchers said.
The projected increase in cancer mortalities necessitates proactive measures to enhance early detection, access to quality care, and public health initiatives, they cautioned.
At the core of these initiatives must be strategies tailored to the unique needs of diverse populations, varying age groups, genetic predispositions, socio-economic disparities, and cultural influences, the researchers added.
The analysis showed that women exhibit higher crude incidence (104.5) and crude mortality (64.2) rates compared to males (91.5 and 62.2), based on 0.676 billion females and 0.731 billion males’ populations in 2022.
Senior oncologists linked this with lifestyle changes, such as consuming adulterated food, more hormone and medicine intake, and the impact of lifestyle disorders apart from delayed access to treatment.
“The risk of breast cancer has considerably risen among women due to a large number of them delaying childbearing or remaining childless due to which they face prolonged exposure to estrogen, a known risk factor for breast cancer,” said Dr Pankaj Goyal, medical oncologist with Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre in New Delhi.
For cervical cancer, he said, the risk remains due to lack of vaccination against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), lack of exercise and rise of obesity.
Late-stage diagnosis remains a critical issue, as many women lack access to regular screening programmes or delay seeking medical care due to financial constraints or social stigma, highlighted Dr Biswal.
For instance, he pointed out, over 60 percent of breast cancer cases in India are diagnosed at an advanced stage, significantly lowering survival rates.
“Hence, we must expand awareness programmes, improve access to diagnostic tools, and strengthen the healthcare infrastructure to address this gender disparity. Promoting early detection through government-backed initiatives and increasing the availability of affordable treatments can improve outcomes and reduce cancer-related mortality among women in India,” said the oncologist.
(Edited by Zinnia Ray Chaudhuri)
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