Ageing population fuels cancer cases and deaths

DEADLY Disease accounts for 15% of all deaths in 2013, up from 12% in 1990

NEW DELHI: More people are dying of cancer than ever before, with cancers accounting for 15% of all deaths in 2013, up from 12% in 1990, reports the Global Burden of Cancer 2013.

Breast cancer was the biggest cause of deaths among women in India while lung cancer claimed the lives of most men in the country. Lung cancer — linked with smoking — was the leading cause cancer deaths among men and women globally, but ranked eighth among Indian women, who have lower smoking rates. “More cases and deaths in India and the world are in part due to rising populations and ageing, and part due to a combination of lifestyle, environment and genetic factors, but some, like oral cancers, can be directly attributed to cancer use” said Dr GK Rath, head, Rotary Cancer Institute, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.

India had the most cancers of the mouth, throat and voice with new mouth cancer cases more than doubling between 1990-2013 (up from 55,480 to 1,27,168). During this period, breast cancer among women rose from 57,374 to 154,261.

Among Indian men, stomach cancer cases grew by 33% since 1990, while prostate cancer cases shot up by 220%. New cervical cancer cases in women grew at 0.2% in the same period, while breast cancer had one of the highest increases at 166%.

Prevention, early diagnosis and treatment can prevent many deaths. “Prevention where possible and early detection are crucial as treatment of late stage cancer is often difficult in less developed settings,” said study co-author Dr Lalit Dandona, professor, Public Health Foundation of India and the University of Washington, Seattle. Globally, prostate cancer cases rose more than threefold among men between 1990 and 2013 — with 1.4 million new cases and 2,93,000 deaths in 2013. Among women, breast cancer remained the leading cancer. In 2013, there were 1.8 million new cases of breast cancer and 464,000 deaths.

Since 1990, cancers of the colon and rectum have increased 92%, stomach cancer has risen by 23% and liver cancer cases are up by 70%. “The most effective strategies to address cancer will be tailored to local needs,” said Dr Christopher Murray, director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, which led the international research consortium that did the study.