GUWAHATI, May 30 - As per the latest report of the Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) on incidence and pattern of cancer under the National Cancer Registry Programme of ICMR, the highest age-adjusted incidence rate (271/100,000) of cancer of all anatomical sites among males is seen in Aizawl district in Mizoram, and among females in Papumpare district (249/100,000) of Arunachal Pradesh.
Among females, cancer of the breast is the leading site in 19 of 27 PBCRs. Cancer of the cervix is the leading site of cancer in the rural areas in Barshi district of Maharashtra, and in the states of Mizoram, Tripura and Nagaland.
Kamrup (Metro) district has recorded the fourth highest incidence of cancer in the country � (206/100,000) in males � and the third highest in females (165/100,000). Cancer of hypopharynx, mouth and tongue in female in Kamrup (Metro) district is first, third and fourth highest in the country. Similarly, cancer of hypopharynx in males is second highest in the country.
Among males, 30 per cent of cancers in India are tobacco-related whereas at Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute here it is as high as 56 per cent and 53.2 per cent in Assam Medical College and Hospital, Dibrugarh.
Again, cancer of oesophagus in Assam in females is the third highest in the country, while cancer of gall bladder in Kamrup (Metro) district in both males and females is the highest in the country. Cancer of prostate is the second highest and cancer of ovary is the third highest in the country.
According to Dr Amal Chandra Kataki, Director, Dr B Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI), considering the high incidence of cancer in Assam and the northeastern states, infrastructure facilities in the region needs further upgrading.
�There is a definite shortage of doctors and nurses at BBCI, and steps have been taken for fresh recruitment. We are hopeful that the new government will initiate steps to bring this institute under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India for overall improvement and fulfil its promises made in the poll manifesto to upgrade it to a state-of-the-art cancer-care institute,� Dr Kataki said.
Dr A Nandakumar, Director, National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR) and Principal Coordinator of National Cancer Registry Programme stated during the release of the report in New Delhi that cancer of the mouth in males is the leading site in registry areas of western states of the country (Barshi Rural/expanded, Ahmedabad Urban, Nagpur, Pune and Wardha). Cancer of mouth is also the leading site in the registry of Bhopal, and the second leading site in Mumbai and Aurangabad. Lung cancer is the leading site of cancer in 10 of 27 PBCRs.
