CHENNAI: The estimated new cancer burden in Tamil Nadu in 2020 is 78,641 patients and the State has more women with cancer than men, according to the TN Cancer Registry Report 2020 released by Health Minister C Vijayabaskar at the Cancer Institute in Adyar on Monday.
The first-of-its-kind report was compiled by the Cancer Institute with the help of the State Health Department. According to the report, 65,590 new cancer cases were diagnosed in 2016 in the whole of Tamil Nadu. The study also showed that there were more women with cancer than men in Tamil Nadu for all cancers put together, the study conducted between 2012-2016 showed.
The Crude Incidence Rate (CIR) of all cancers together was 84.1 per one lakh population for both sexes while it was 74.4 for men and 93.9 for women. The CIR refers to the number of cases occurring in a specified population in a year.
The report also showed that the cumulative risk of acquiring cancer in one's lifetime of 0-74 years was one in 12 in the state.
According to the report, the highest CIR of all cancers and both sexes together was observed in Chennai at 140.8 per one lakh population. The least was reported in Krishnagiri at 48.5 per one lakh population. The report showed that among men stomach cancer was most common. The CIR of stomach cancer in men was 6.6 per one lakh population, while the CIR for mouth cancer was 6.2, lung cancer 5.9, large bowel cancer 4.8 and tongue cancer 4.1 per one lakh population.
Common cancers among women are breast cancer with a CIR of 24.7 per one lakh population while cervical cancer had a CIR of 19.4, ovary 5.0, large bowel and mouth cancer 3.5 per one lakh population.
The Age Standardised Rate (ASR) of mouth cancer observed among women in Thanjavur district is 9.2 per one lakh women -- the highest in the world, according to the report. ASR is a summary measure of the rate of cancer that a population would have if it had a standard age structure.
For breast cancer among women in Chennai the ASR was 46.4 per one lakh women, the highest in India.
The ASR for cervical cancer observed in Perambalur district was 37.6 per one lakh women, again the highest in India.
Releasing the report, the health minister said the data will help the government to frame policies for the prevention, control and treatment of cancer. He also thanked the Adyar Cancer Institute for its work on the registry. Meanwhile, Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan said it was decided in 2012 to create a cancer registry. The registry will go a long way in ascertaining the cause of mortality and stages of cancers. The report was released in the presence of Dr V Shanta, Chairman of the Cancer Institute.