Hyderabad: Hyderabad has the highest incidence rate of breast cancer in the country, with an age-adjusted incidence rate of 48 per one lakh population, according to data from the Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR)
The city also has the highest incidence of paediatric cancers in south India, occurring among children in the age group of 0-14 years. They constitute 2.44 per cent of the total cancer load in both sexes with a higher percentage among boys (3.2 per cent) than girls (1.8 per cent).
On the positive side, the city also had the lowest total mortality as a percentage to incidence for all cancers: in males, 35.4 per cent and in females 27.7 per cent.
The study revealed that on average, one out of 16 males and one out of 10 females in Hyderabad get cancer in their lifetime, considering one lives up to the age of 64 years.
Tobacco and alcohol were among the biggest contributors to the development of cancer.
On World Cancer Day, the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (Nims) released data from the Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) for Hyderabad on Tuesday.
During the period of the study, from (2014 to 2016, 11,596 new cancer cases were registered in Hyderabad. Of these, 5,143 were male patients and 6,453 were women. It was found that 42.2 per cent of cancers in male patients and 13.51 per cent among women patients were tobacco-related.
Among women patients, breast cancer constituted 35.5 per cent of cancer cases, surpassing cervical cancer (8.7 per cent) as the most common site of cancer. Ovarian cancer (6.9 per cent) was the third most common cancer, followed by cancer of corpus uteri (5.5 per cent) and lung cancer (4.1 per cent).
The mouth was found to be the leading site among males, constituting 13.3 per cent of the total cancer cases. This was followed by the lung (10.9 per cent), tongue (7.9 per cent), stomach (5.7 per cent) and prostate (4.7 per cent). Prostate cancer has risen to be the fourth most common cancer, from a lower position in earlier years.
“Factors like urbanisation, pollution and obesity are the major factors for the development of breast cancer,” noted Dr Sadashivudu Gundeti, head of the medical oncology department and principal investigator of PBCR. There are 28 PBCRs in the country, each representing a specific geography.
Dr Gundeti said that “there is a cumulative risk of one in nine males and one in seven females getting cancer after the age of 74 years. “Robust screening measures for early detection and targeted therapies are required and the treatment is available at Nims,” he said.
“We have allocated around `4 crore for cancer drugs. We are grateful to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy who has allocated `138 crore from the CM Relief Fund for the treatment of poor patients. This is supplemented by the treatment through the Aarogyasri scheme. Another `30 crore we have got from CSR funds for equipment. All-round care of the patient is focused upon,” said Dr N. Bheerappa, the director of NIMS.
Doctors stressed the importance fo leading a healthy lifestyle and encouraged citizens to get regular checkups done after 40 years of age. The focus is on targeted therapies because every patient and every cancer is different. With the incidence of cancers starting from a young age, the doctors recommended avoiding processed and sugary foods.
