Unveiling the cancer epidemic in India: a glimpse into GLOBOCAN 2022 and past patterns

• ..         

 

The five most prevalent cancers affecting both genders collectively account for 44% of cancer burden in India. Notably, females 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. The middle-aged and geriatric-cohorts account the heaviest (70%) cancer burden with higher crude rates (315.9–543.1 incidents, 215.6–407.8 mortalities). Alarmingly, cancer-related mortalities have increased faster among females (1.2–4.4% APC) than males (1.2–2.4% APC) over the past decade and are expected to continue rising over coming two decades. Approximately three out of every five individuals in India succumb to death following a cancer diagnosis, as per the GLOBOCAN 2022 incidence (1,413,316) to mortality (916,827) ratio. Childhood and reproductive age-group individuals bear the lowest risk of developing (0.12–2.4%) and dying (0.08–1.3%) from cancer compared to their middle-aged and geriatric counterparts, having highest risks of developing (8.3–10.3%) and dying (5.5–7.7%) from cancer. As the population of India transitions from the reproductive age group to the middle age and geriatric age group, the India is anticipated to witness the highest cancer burden of all-time in near future, potentially exacerbated by the looming epidemic.