A report from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that breast, oral, and cervical cancers collectively represented 32% of new cases in India. Additionally, the data reveals a slight numerical excess of cancer cases in women compared to men.
New estimates from the Global Cancer Observatory for 2022, released on February 1, reveal that breast, oral, and cervical cancers collectively accounted for 32% of new cases in India. Among the reported cases, women slightly outnumbered men, with 7,22,138 affected women compared to 6,91,178 men.
According to the latest estimates from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a WHO cancer agency, India documented over 14.13 lakh new cancer cases and 9.16 lakh deaths in 2022. The top five cancers among Indian women were identified as those of the breast, cervix, ovary, mouth, and colorectum, while the top five cancers among men were those of the oral cavity, lung, esophagus, colorectum, and stomach. These findings were released ahead of World Cancer Day on February 4.
Breast cancer emerged as the predominant cancer among women, accounting for 26.6% with 1,92,020 new cases, followed by 1,27,526 cases of cervical cancer (17.7%). Ovarian cancer ranked as the third most common cancer among women, constituting 6.6% of cases in 2022. Among men, oral cancer took the lead with 1,07,812 new cases (15.6%), followed by lung cancer (58,970 new cases – 8.5%) and cancer of the esophagus (45,608 – 6.6%).
In terms of mortality, breast cancer emerged as the primary cause of death (13.7%) with 98,337 cases, followed by oral cancer (5.6% with 79,979 cases) and cervical cancer (11.2% with 79,906 cases) in the country in 2022.
