title: The growing burden of cancer in India: epidemiology and social context.
abstract: Cancer can have profound social and economic consequences for people in India, often leading to family impoverishment and societal inequity. Reported age-adjusted incidence rates for cancer are still quite low in the demographically young country. Slightly more than 1 million new cases of cancer are diagnosed every year in a population of 1.2 billion. In age-adjusted terms this represents a combined male and female incidence of about a quarter of that recorded in western Europe. However, an estimated 600,000-700,000 deaths in India were caused by cancer in 2012. In age-standardised terms this figure is close to the mortality burden seen in high-income countries. Such figures are partly indicative of low rates of early-stage detection and poor treatment outcomes. Many cancer cases in India are associated with tobacco use, infections, and other avoidable causes. Social factors, especially inequalities, are major determinants of India's cancer burden, with poorer people more likely to die from cancer before the age of 70 years than those who are more affluent. In this first of three papers, we examine the complex epidemiology of cancer, the future burden, and the dominant sociopolitical themes relating to cancer in India.
authors.affiliation: Department of Digestive Diseases, Tata Medical Center, Kolkata West Bengal, India. Electronic address: mohandas.mallath@tmckolkata.com.
authors.forename: Mohandas K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Mallath
authors.affiliation: UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: David G
authors.initials: DG
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.affiliation: Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Rajendra A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Badwe
authors.affiliation: Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Goura K
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Rath
authors.affiliation: Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, Chennai Tamil Nadu, India.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Shanta
authors.affiliation: Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: C S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pramesh
authors.affiliation: Tata Cancer Hospital, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Raghunadharao
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Digumarti
authors.affiliation: Regional Cancer Centre, Trivandrum, India.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sebastian
authors.affiliation: Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati Assam, India.
authors.forename: Bibhuti B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Borthakur
authors.affiliation: Acharya Tulsi Regional Cancer Treatment and Research Institute, S.P. Medical College Hospitals, Rajastan, India.
authors.forename: Ashok
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalwar
authors.affiliation: Director General Border Roads, New Delhi, India.
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kapoor
authors.affiliation: Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Shaleen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: UCL School of Pharmacy, University College London, London, UK.
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Gill
authors.affiliation: Mazumdar-Shaw Cancer Centre, Narayana Hrudayalaya, Bangalore, India.
authors.forename: Moni A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kuriakose
authors.affiliation: Birla Cancer Center, SMS Medical College Hospital, Jaipur, Rajastan, India.
authors.forename: Hemant
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Malhotra
authors.affiliation: Regional Cancer Centre, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Chandigarh, India.
authors.forename: Suresh C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India.
authors.forename: Shilin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.affiliation: Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: Lokesh
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Viswanath
authors.affiliation: Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
authors.forename: Raju T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Chacko
authors.affiliation: Mizoram State Cancer Institute, Aizawl, India.
authors.forename: Jeremy L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Pautu
authors.affiliation: Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry, India.
authors.forename: Kenipakapatnam S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.affiliation: Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai Maharashtra, India.
authors.forename: Kailash S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.affiliation: King's College London, King's Health Partners Cancer Centre, London, UK.
authors.forename: Arnie D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Purushotham
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cancer Policy, London, UK.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sullivan
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D017281:Cost of Illness; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors