DT Next Health | Increasing trend in cancer cases globally is alarming
The increase is due to population growth, ageing and exposure to risk factors mainly tobacco, alcohol, obesity, physical inactivity with poor intake of fruits and vegetables.
CHENNAI: The global cancer incidence is 20 million and 9.7 million died of cancer. There are 14,13,316 new cancer cases in India of which 9,16,827 cases have died of cancer. The cancer incidence in Tamil Nadu is around 88,750 in 2022 and is holding an upward trend. The increasing trend in cancer cases is quite alarming to the community.
The most common cancer in Indian women is breast cancer (26.6%), cervix (17.7%), ovary (6.6%), lip, oral cavity (5%) and colorectum (3.7%). In men, it is lip, oral cavity (15.6%) lung (8.5 %), oesophagus (6.6%), colorectum (6.3%) and stomach (6.2%).
The increase is due to population growth, ageing and exposure to risk factors mainly tobacco, alcohol, obesity, physical inactivity with poor intake of fruits and vegetables. At least 30-50 per cent of all cancer cases are preventable by avoiding tobacco and alcohol, regular physical activity and adopting a healthy diet which includes fruits and vegetables. Vaccination against HPV and HBV can bring down cervical cancer and liver cancer.
No one should ignore any early symptoms of cancer like non-healing ulcers, irregular bowel habits, unusual bleeding or discharge, indigestion, lump in the breast or anywhere in the body, unusual weight loss and nagging cough. Screening of normal population is very important for detecting cancers early especially annual screening mammogram for breast cancer for women above 40 years, pap smear for cervical cancer, fecal occult blood and sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer and serum PSA test for prostate cancer. Regular health checkups can detect early cancers like kidney cancer, liver tumour and lung cancer.
There are improvements in cancer treatment with new technologies like robotic surgeries, nanotechnology and CAR-T cell therapy. Creating awareness of prevention and early Detection among the public is essential to conquer cancer.
