In 2022, India witnessed an alarming surge in cancer cases, recording more than 14 lakh new instances and over 9 lakh fatalities, as reported by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization (WHO). The findings indicated that breast and cervix cancers were predominant among Indian women, constituting nearly 27 and 18 percent of the new cases, respectively. Meanwhile, men commonly faced lip, oral cavity, and lung cancers, accounting for 15.6, 8.5, and 12.4 percent of the new cases.
The report revealed that approximately 32.6 lakh individuals in India survived within five years post a cancer diagnosis, with 14,13,316 reported cases and 9,16,827 deaths. WHO’s projections for 2050 indicated a staggering 77 percent surge in global cancer cases, reaching over 35 million cases, and a nearly doubled death toll exceeding 18 million. Tobacco use, alcohol consumption, obesity, population aging, and growth were identified as key contributors to the rising cancer incidence.
In India, the calculated risk of developing cancer before the age of 75 was 10.6 percent, with a corresponding risk of dying from cancer by the same age at 7.2 percent. Globally, these risks were estimated to be 20 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively. The WHO highlighted that many countries inadequately fund priority cancer and palliative care services as part of universal health coverage, according to survey results from 115 countries. The IARC report emphasized that ten types of cancer collectively constituted about two-thirds of global new cases and deaths in 2022, with lung cancer being the most prevalent and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths.
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