Cancer continues to figure among the leading causes of mortality worldwide, accounting for 8.2 million deaths in 2012 and cancer cases are expected to rise from 14 million in 2012 to 22 million within the next two decades.
In its “World cancer report 2014” released recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the specialised agency of the WHO for cancer, notes that prevalence estimates for 2012 show that there were 32.6 million people over the age of 15 years alive who had had a cancer diagnosed in the previous five years.
In India, the estimated cancer deaths is projected to increase to 7 lakh by 2015 and the situation is expected to worsen due to increase in life expectancy, demographic transitions and the effects of tobacco, alcohol and other risk factors, said Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi from Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Center hospital.
What’s worst, more and more women are coming under the grip of the deadly disease. The IARC has stressed on priority to be given to cancer prevention and control measures for breast and cervical cancers globally.
“Breast cancer is also a leading cause of death in the less developed countries of the world. This is partly because a shift in lifestyles is causing an increase in incidence, and partly because clinical advances to combat the disease are not reaching women living in these regions,” said Dr David Forman, Head of the IARC Section of Cancer Information.
Dr Kapil Kumar from Delhi-based Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre suggested that women should regularly go for breast self- examination and in case of any abnormality should immediately seek medical attention.
“like breast cancer, cervical cancer too can have devastating effects with a very high human, social, and economic cost, affecting women in their prime,” explained Dr Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, a lead investigator for an IARC research project with a focus on cervical cancer screening in rural India.