A report in The Lancet underscores an alarming reality: Cancer is becoming a major public-health crisis, especially for low- and middle-income countries, including India. Cases of cancer in the country have risen from 84.8 per 1,00,000 people in 1990 to 107.2 per 1,00,000 in 2023. This means nearly 1.5 million people are diagnosed with cancer annually. Cancer mortality has increased from 71.7 per 1,00,000 in 1990 to 86.9 per 1,00,000 in 2023, translating to around 12.1 lakh yearly deaths. India’s cancer burden is becoming heavier, resulting in a system grappling with late diagnoses, uneven access to care, and, in certain cases, avoidable complications. Even though cancer incidence and the mortality rate remain lower than the global average, the pace of growth, set against an expanding and ageing population, makes the challenge urgent.
The study highlights that nearly 70 per cent of cancers in India are linked to preventable or modifiable risk factors, ranging from tobacco consumption and air pollution to obesity, poor diet, alcohol consumption, infections such as HPV and hepatitis B, and high blood sugar. These risks are often shaped by personal choices as well as systemic failures: Weak regulation, inadequate health infrastructure, and low public awareness. To break the cycle, India must make preventive action the backbone of its cancer policy. This includes investing in cleaner air and water, scaling up HPV and hepatitis B vaccinations, expanding public awareness on the triggers of certain cancers.
There have been some encouraging pockets of progress. Many states have begun deploying technology-driven models of care, such as mobile vans and tele-oncology, to expand access. Last week, Punjab launched AI-enabled screening devices for early detection of breast and cervical cancers. In Karnataka, which reports around one lakh cases annually, the use of oncology procedures under the Ayushman Bharat Arogya Karnataka (AB-ArK) scheme has increased more than sixfold over the past six years. Yet, a lot more remains to be done. The rollout of India’s first approved CAR-T therapy, NexCAR19, shows promise, but it remains prohibitively expensive. Screening programmes continue to be patchy and poorly linked to treatment pathways; India’s cancer registry infrastructure remains underdeveloped — reporting is voluntary, and data lag impedes real-time policy adjustments. Building a national cancer map is vital to understand where and why India’s cancer hotspots are emerging — and how best to deploy resources. Without such steps and without a commensurate scale-up in infrastructure and clinical trials, India risks letting innovation benefit only a privileged few while the larger population continues to shoulder a disproportionate — and preventable — toll of loss and disease.
