‘CERVICAL CANCER CASES DECLINE REMARKABLY IN URBAN AREAS’

Here’s some good news and bad news on the trend of cancer incidence among women. While the incidence of cervical cancer has gone down remarkably, breast cancer has almost doubled in urban areas.

Population-based cancer registries across India that offer insights into geographic variations in cancer also show its link with etiological factors. “The high incidence of breast cancer in urban women in India is mainly related to late first child, less breast feeding and obesity. Incidence of breast cancer has also gone up in semiurban areas, while remaining the same in rural areas,” said Rajendra Badwe, director of Tata Memorial Center.

A robust cancer registry system is an essential element for the successful implementation and functioning of any national cancer control programme, he said.

The 37th annual International Association of Cancer Registries (IACR) conference was held in Mumbai from October 8 to 10. Tata Memorial Center has partnered with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to launch a Hindi version of The Cancer Atlas, Second Edition at IACR 2015.

“The India Cancer Atlas is an unprecedented effort to capture the landscape of cancer in India and offers profound insight into the unique challenges.

This Atlas will help us in resource prioritisation based on the local pattern of disease,” Badwe said.