World Cancer Day: Many European countries have higher prevalence of cancer than India, shows WHO data

As countries mark World Cancer Day tomorrow, it is an opportune time to take stock of the occurrence of the life-threatening disease in India. By dint of hosting world’s second largest population, India has a large number of cancer patients across age groups, but the WHO data points out that the incidence of the disease in the country is far less than many European countries. As per the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) data collated by GLOBOCAN , the incidence of cancer per 1 lakh population in the country is 97 which is about four times lesser than countries like Australia (452 per 1 lakh), New Zealand (423 per lakh ), USA(362 per lakh) among others.

In stark contrast to the general perception that India has an overwhelmingly large share of world’s cancer patients, the WHO data collated by GLOBOCON shows otherwise. As per the Cancer Incidence Rate per 1 lakh population across standard age, India is on 172nd position with respect to the occurrence of the disease. The countries which contribute the maximum number of cancer patients per 1 lakh population are Australia (1st position), New Zealand (2nd position), Ireland( 3rd position), and USA(4th position). Other sizeable countries which have a high incidence of the malignant disease are Canada(8th position), France(9th position) and Netherlands (6th position) among others.

So far as the occurrence of the disease in Indian states are concerned, North-Eastern states Mizoram and Meghalaya are the top contributors of cancer patients in India with the incidence rate of 186 and 153 cancer patients per 1 lakh population, the data collated from The Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2016 showed. The occurrence of the disease in the national capital is 148 per 1 lakh population which makes Delhi the third highest region contributing to the high load of cancer patients in the country.

The same data also pointed out that states involved in intensive farming including Punjab has substantially less prevalence of the disease than states which have less land under agriculture. Take for instance the states like Mizoram and Meghalaya which have maximum prevalence of the disease despite not having a substantial agricultural base. On the other hand, Punjab which is one of the most prolific agricultural states is on 24th position in the country with respect to the prevalence of the disease. The data shows that the commonly held perception that states having large agricultural base have higher prevalence of the disease.

It is pertinent to note that according to National Cancer Registry Program and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), 30 percent of the incidence of cancer is traced to the consumption of tobacco and other related products in the country.