Projection of cancer incident cases for India -till 2026.

Projection of cancer incidence is essential for planning cancer control actions, health care and allocation of resources. Here we project the cancer burden at the National and State level to understand the magnitude of cancer problem for the various calendar years from 2011 to 2026 at 5-yearly intervals. The age, sex and site-wise cancer incidence data along with populations covered by the registries were obtained from the report of National Cancer Registry Programme published by Indian Council of Medical Research for the period 2001-2004. Pooled age sex specific cancer incidence rates were obtained by taking weighted averages of these seventeen registries with respective registry populations as weights. The pooled incidence rates were assumed to represent the country's incidence rates. Populations of the country according to age and sex exposed to the risk of development of cancer in different calendar years were obtained from the report of Registrar General of India providing population projections for the country for the years from 2001 to 2026. Population forecasts were combined with the pooled incidence rates to estimate the projected number of cancer cases by age, sex and site of cancer at various 5-yearly periods Viz. 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. The projections were carried out for the various leading sites as well as for 'all sites' of cancer. In India, in 2011, nearly 1,193,000 new cancer cases were estimated; a higher load among females (603,500) than males (589,800) was noted. It is estimated that the total number of new cases in males will increased from 0.589 million in 2011 to 0.934 million by the year 2026. In females the new cases of cancer increased from 0.603 to 0.935 million. Three top most occurring cancers namely those of tobacco related cancers in both sexes, breast and cervical cancers in women account for over 50 to 60 percent of all cancers. When adjustments for increasing tobacco habits and increasing trends in many cancers are made, the estimates may further increase. The leading sites of cancers in males are lung, oesophagus, larynx, mouth, tongue and in females breast and cervix uteri. The main factors contributing to high burden of cancer over the years are increase in the population size as well as increase in proportion of elderly population, urbanization, and globalization. The cancer incidence results show an urgent need for strengthening and augmenting the existing diagnostic/treatment facilities, which are inadequate even to tackle the present load.

Projection of burden of cancer mortality for India, 2011-2026.

Projection of load of cancer mortality helps in quantifying the burden of cancer and is essential for planning cancer control activities. As per our knowledge, there have not been many attempts to project the cancer mortality burden at the country level in India mainly due to lack of data on cancer mortality at the national and state level. This is an attempt to understand the magnitude of cancer mortality problem for the various calendar years from 2011 to 2026 at 5-yearly intervals. Age, sex and site-wise specific cancer mortality data along with populations covered by the registries were obtained from the report of National Cancer Registry Programme published by Indian Council of Medical Research for the period 2001-2004. Pooled age sex specific cancer mortality rates were obtained by taking weighted average of these six registries with respective registry populations as weights. The pooled mortality rates were assumed to represent the country's mortality rates. Populations of the country according to age and sex exposed to the risk of cancer mortality in different calendar years were obtained from the report of Registrar General of India providing population projections for the country for the years from 2011 to 2026. Population forecasts were combined with the pooled mortality rates to estimate the projected number of cancer mortality cases by age, sex and site of cancer at various 5-yearly periods Viz. 2011, 2016, 2021 and 2026. The projections were carried out for the various cancer-leading sites as well as for 'all sites' of cancer. The results revealed that an estimated 0.44 million died due to cancer during the year 2011, while 0.51 million and 0.60 million persons are likely to die from cancer in 2016 and 2021. In the year 2011 male mortality was estimated to be 0.23 million and female mortality to be 0.20 million. The estimated cancer mortality would increase to 0.70 million by the year 2026 as a result of change in size and composition of population. In males increase will be to 0.38 millions and in females to 0.32 millions. Among women, cancer of the breast, cervical and ovary account for 34 percent of all cancer deaths. The leading sites of cancer mortality in males are lung, oesophagus, prostrate and stomach. The above results show a need for commitment for tackling cancer by reducing risk factors and strengthening the existing screening and treatment facilities.