Health

IIE DIGITAL DESK : The recent cross-sectional analysis of data from 43 population-based cancer registries (PBCRs) across India has revealed that the northeastern states consistently recorded some of the highest cancer incidence rates in the country between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2019, with Aizawl, East Khasi Hills, Papumpare, Kamrup Urban and Mizoram topping the charts. The study draws on registry-level population-at-risk figures from the Census of India to map geographically where cancer burden is concentrated and how the leading cancer sites differ by region. 

Across the 43 PBCRs included in the analysis, researchers recorded 708,000 (7.08 lakh) new cancer cases and 206,000 (2.06 lakh) deaths during the five-year window, underscoring the heavy toll cancer is already exerting on India’s health system. The pattern of incidence and fatality diverges by sex: women accounted for a slightly higher share of diagnosed cases (51.1 percent) while men accounted for a larger share of deaths (55 percent), pointing to differences in site distribution, stage at diagnosis, or access to timely care. 

The study calculated the lifetime risk of developing cancer in India at roughly 11.0 percent, but this national average masks striking subregional variation. Mizoram stood out with an estimated lifetime risk of 21.1 percent for males and 18.9 percent for females, and Aizawl district reported the highest age-adjusted incidence rate (AAIR) for both sexes — a finding that places the northeast’s cancer burden well above many other parts of the country. 

Site-wise, the most common cancers showed clear sex differences: in men, oral cancer, lung cancer and prostate cancer dominated, while among women breast, cervical and ovarian cancers were the leading diagnoses. The report also flagged worrying trends in oral cancer incidence, which has risen significantly in 14 PBCRs among males and in four PBCRs among females — a signal that tobacco and related risk factors remain a potent public-health challenge in multiple regions. 

Metropolitan patterns differed from regional ones: among million-plus cities Delhi posted the highest overall AAIR for males, while Srinagar recorded the highest AAIR for lung cancer. Taken together, the study’s findings call for regionally tailored cancer control strategies — strengthened screening where high rates are detected, targeted tobacco-control and prevention campaigns in oral-cancer hotspots, and efforts to improve early diagnosis and equitable access to treatment so that differences in mortality and incidence by sex and place can be reduced.