Lung cancer cases plunged up by 5 percent in India in the last two years, according to the government figure, the merciless disease went up by 34K in the previous year.
The country reported the maximum number of cases in the state of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, and Bihar. Moving down south, the cancer caseload was most in the state of Tamil Nadu, followed by Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala.
Government in the parliament (quoting the Indian Council of Medical Research — National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP) said, “the Lung Cancer cases have gone up from 98,278 in 2020 to 1,03,371 in 2022, Registering a bounce of 5.2 percent.”
In the year 2022, in Uttar Pradesh ( including both men and women) the overall number of cancer cases reported is 2,10,958. In the same year, Maharashtra reported 1,21,717 cases, along with (1,13,851) in West Bengal and (1, 09274) Bihar.
In the south, Tamil Nadu staged top in the ranking reporting 93,536 cases, followed by Karnataka with 90,349, Andhra Pradesh with 73,536, and Kerala with 59,143.
Since 2019, the states have witnessed a rise in cancer cases.
Tamil Nadu registered 86,596 cases in 2019, 88,866 in 2020, and 91,184 in 2021. Karnataka in 2019 reported 83,824 cases. In 2020, it went up to 85,968, while in 2020, the figure stood at 88,126.
In 2019, Andhra Pradesh recorded 68,883 cancer cases, in 2020, it went up to 70,424, and in 2021 it touched 71,970. Kerala 2019 registered a total of 56148 cases in 2019, which shot up to 57,155 in 2020 and 58,139 in 2021.
Among all four southern states, Telanagana reported the least number of cases. In 2019, the state registered 46,464 cases. In 2020 it recorded 47,620, and in 2021, the instances touched 48,775.
No other state has recorded a decrease in cases except the Union Territory Lakshadweep where 28 cases were reported in two consecutive years – 2021 and 22, one up from 2020.
raising concern over the rising number of lung cancer cases in the country, the government said that the main risk factors for cancer involve consumption of alcohol, tobacco, and tobacco products, lack of physical activities, improper diet, and air pollution.
According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), one in nine Indians is likely to have cancer in a lifetime, as the disease may jump by 12.8 percent from 2020 to 2025. It also said that the highest cases were reported in the 40-64 age group.
Lung cancer was the topmost common cancer among men, while breast cancer topped females in all age groups. “The cancer incidence is continuing to increase in India,” ICMR said in its journal, Indian Journal of Medical Research.
