India, described as ‘the cancer capital of the world’ in a recent report released by the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital (TMCH) Mumbai, records more than a million new cases every year. The surge is estimated to surpass the global average by 2025.
INCREASE IN YOUNGER GENERATION
Cancer is increasingly affecting younger people in India. Monthly tobacco-related deaths have more than doubled over the past two decades, from 1,800 to 4,000 in India. Twenty years ago, 20 per cent of boys and 3 per cent of girls used to take tobacco products. Today, these numbers have escalated to 39 per cent and 20 per cent, respectively.
20 per cent of the cancer cases in the country are being detected in men and women below the age of 40; around 60 per cent of these patients are men. The most prevalent cases are of head and neck cancer
(26 per cent), followed by gastrointestinal cancer (16 per cent), breast cancer (15 per cent) and blood cancer (9 per cent).
Cancer experts have linked the rising risk of cancer in the younger generation with obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and higher consumption of ultra-processed food, besides tobacco and alcohol. Another worrying factor is the late detection of cancer in two-thirds of the cases, indicating low levels of awareness about screening.
FOCUSSED APPROACH NEEDED
What Is Needed ?A focused approach is needed to handle cases of people under 40, who form an important segment of the working-age population. The case burden can be reduced by lifestyle modification and effective screening strategies that detect cancer in the early stages. India needs to be well prepared for this silent epidemic, which threatens to reverse the economic gains made during its remarkable post- covid recovery. Affordable and effective cancer care should be prioritised. Cancer research, too, must get the importance it deserves. Findings of various studies, such as the one which says that people with tattoos are at a higher risk of developing blood cancer, need to be widely publicised so as to raise awareness. A multipronged strategy can help India strongly combat the emperor of all maladies.
(Dr Naresh Purohit is Advisor, National Cancer Control Programme. The views and opinion expressed in this article are those of the author)
