Breast cancer leads among women, lung cancer among men in Chandigarh

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Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women and lung cancer is the leading cause among men in Chandigarh, according to the second report of the Chandigarh Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Registry. The report was released at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) on Saturday.

The report, co-published by the World NCD Federation, the Health Department of the Chandigarh Administration, and PGI Chandigarh, offers a detailed overview of the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases in the city, such as cancer, stroke, heart attacks, early-onset diabetes, aplastic anaemia, and chronic kidney disease.

The report, based on data collected between July 2018 and December 2021, revealed that breast cancer made up 36% of all cancer diagnoses among women in Chandigarh, followed by ovarian cancer at 7.4% and cervical cancer at 6.6%. Among men, lung cancer was the most common, representing 14.7% of cases, while prostate and urinary bladder cancers accounted for 14% and 6.7%, respectively.

Chandigarh reports 1,000 cancer cases a year

According to a report by The Hindustan Times, on average, Chandigarh records 1,000 new cancer cases each year, the NCD report stated. The city’s female cancer incidence rate stands at 98.7 per 1 lakh population—slightly lower than the national average of 105.4—while the male incidence rate is 97.3 per 1 lakh, marginally higher than the national average of 95.6. Mortality rates are 50 per 1 lakh for men and 46 per 1 lakh for women, both below the national averages, according to the report.

46-60 age group most affected

Overall, the registry gathered and analysed data on five non-communicable diseases (NCDs), revealing that most cases were recorded in the 46–69 age group for both men and women. The information was sourced from 40 institutions, including government and private hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, and birth and death registration offices.

Dr JS Thakur, professor, department of community medicine and school of public health, PGIMER, and World NCD Federation president, was quoted by HT as saying that cancer cases are on the rise both in Chandigarh and across the country. Dr Thakur, who is the principal investigator of Chandigarh NCD registry, said that earlier, cervix cancer was the most prevalent among but now, breast cancer is at the top.

Dr Rakesh Kapoor, professor and head of clinical haematology and medical oncology, PGIMER, and co-investigator of Chandigarh NCD registry, was quoted as saying that a worrying trend has been noticed where more younger people are falling prey to breast cancer and the reason is unclear. Citing a study, Dr Kapoor said that late marriage, non-pregnancy and family history are some of the contributory factors to breast cancer.

Smoking, air pollution key risk factors for lung cancer

Among men, the key risk factors for lung cancer are smoking, air pollution, occupational exposure, etc. For oral cancer, it is tobacco chewing, smoking, poor oral hygiene, etc, while for prostate cancer, multiple factors including age, family history, genetic alterations, diet, obesity, inflammation of the prostate can be attributed.

On what could be the possible causes for rising cases in Chandigarh, Dr Rahul D Modi, co-director, gynaecological oncology, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi, was quoted by HT as saying: “There are multiple reasons but obesity is one of the biggest risk factors for breast cancer and many other cancers.” He added that with growing awareness among people, the detection rate is also rising. Dr Modi further said that it has been seen that in developed regions, women are more prone to breast and uterine cancer than cervical cancer.