India emerges ‘Cancer Capital of the World’: Health of Nation Report

Guwahati, April 7: India is witnessing a significant surge in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and respiratory ailments, which account for 63 percent of deaths in the country.

In the latest edition of their annual ‘Health of Nation’ report, the Apollo Hospitals shed light on the concerning rise of NCDs, saying, “particularly alarming is the escalating incidence of cancer in India compared to global rates, making India the ‘cancer capital of the world.”

The key findings in their annual report said that not only is there a sharp rise in the number of cancer cases in India, but their average age of incident has also gotten significantly younger.

The following are the key findings in their annual report on cancer:

• The most common cancers in order of occurrence in India are breast, cervix, and ovary in women and lung, mouth, and prostate in men.
• The median age for cancer diagnosis in India is lower than in other countries. According to Apollo findings, the average age of diagnosis of breast cancer in India is 52, while it is 63 in the USA and Europe. For lung cancer, the average age of diagnosis in Apollo is 59 years, whereas it averages around 70 years in the west.
• 30 percent of colon cancer patients admitted to their hospital are less than 50 years old.
  
• Despite these trends, cancer screening rates in India remain very low. Breast cancer screening in India is 1.9 percent, compared to 82 percent in the USA, 70 percent in the UK, and 23 percent in China. Cervical cancer screening in India is 0.9 percent, compared to 73 percent in the USA, 70 percent in the UK, and 43 percent in China.