AHMEDABAD: Between 2007 and 2016, there was a 60% increase in the number of cancer cases recorded in the ‘Ahmedabad Urban Agglomeration Area,’ states Population-Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) data, an annual increase of about 4.8%. The data since 2017 has not been made public. The registry is maintained by the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, ICMR, Bengaluru.
The data found that the prevalance rate of cancer has gone down, from 98.6 per lakh among males and 81.2 in females in 2007, the figures were 94.3 and 77 for 2016, respectively.
Dr Shashank Pandya, director of Gujarat Cancer Research Institute (GCRI), said the overall increase can be attributed to two factors. “Over the past decade, population of the city has increased and that will surely reflect on the numbers. There is also an increase in awareness, we see more patients today at stages I and II, which was not the case a few years ago,” he said.
GCRI at Civil Hospital, the biggest cancer hospital in Gujarat, attends to about 83 new cases a day, or 2,500 cases a month, that may or may not need hospitalization. Officials said that health insurance — both government and private — has improved cancer reporting in recent years.
Experts point to the state’s notorious tobacco consumption habit as the major cause and which can be easily prevented. Dr Somesh Chandra, a city-based oncosurgeon, said the youngest person with tobacco-related cancer he has seen was 18 years old. “Having gutka/masala is found to be causing cancer much faster than other forms of tobacco consumption. It is severely affecting adolescents and young adults (YAY) in Gujarat,” he said, adding that such cancers are more aggressive.
Dr Parimal Jivrajani, preventive oncologist, said regular screening of tobacco chewers and smokers by experts and general practitioners or even by themselves can detect cancer at early stages. “Hidden cases in almost all categories of cancer cannot be ruled out,” he said.
The data found that the prevalance rate of cancer has gone down, from 98.6 per lakh among males and 81.2 in females in 2007, the figures were 94.3 and 77 for 2016, respectively.
GCRI at Civil Hospital, the biggest cancer hospital in Gujarat, attends to about 83 new cases a day, or 2,500 cases a month, that may or may not need hospitalization. Officials said that health insurance — both government and private — has improved cancer reporting in recent years.
Experts point to the state’s notorious tobacco consumption habit as the major cause and which can be easily prevented. Dr Somesh Chandra, a city-based oncosurgeon, said the youngest person with tobacco-related cancer he has seen was 18 years old. “Having gutka/masala is found to be causing cancer much faster than other forms of tobacco consumption. It is severely affecting adolescents and young adults (YAY) in Gujarat,” he said, adding that such cancers are more aggressive.
Dr Parimal Jivrajani, preventive oncologist, said regular screening of tobacco chewers and smokers by experts and general practitioners or even by themselves can detect cancer at early stages. “Hidden cases in almost all categories of cancer cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Get the app