Projections of burden of cancers: A new approach for measuring incidence cases for India and its states – Till 2025

Abstract

BackgroundChanging the way of life, rising longevity and progressive control of communicable diseases have led to emergence non-communicable diseases, which emerged as a significant public health problem in India and other developing countries during the second half of last century. The burden of cancer is one of the vital contributors to non-communicable diseases in India. It accounts for around 706 thousands of cancers cases in males and 666 thousand in females in 2015. ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess the burden of cancers by place of residence for India and its states for 2015–25. Materials and methodsIn India, National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) is only a reliable source for data on cancer. Henceforth, the cancer incidence rates were taken into account from Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCRs) generated by National Cancer Registries Programmes (NCRP) under Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and a population of India and its states were taken from the report projected by Registrar General of India formed the sources of data. Best possible assessment for incidence rates for nonavailable registry states was worked out by using limited available data. The linear regression method was used to assess trend and project the rates for 2015–25. ResultsThe overall burden of cancers in India was estimated to be 1.37 million in 2015, and it was increased to nearly 1.80 million by 2025, an increase of more than 31.4%. A major portion of this burden was in rural men (three fifths) and males (more than half). The detailed analysis indicated regional diversity in the burden of different types of cancers. ConclusionIn view of increasing burden of cancers, there is burning need to initiate focused on control measures to combat the same.