The numbers from the ministry, sourced from the National Cancer Registry Programme Report, also show that there has been a consistent rise in the total cases as well as related deaths due to breast cancer between 2019 and 2023.
In 2019, India reported more than 2 lakh cases of breast cancer that increased by around 10 per cent to 2.2 lakh in 2023. The deaths due to the disease during the same period also increased by about 10 per cent — from 74,481 to 82,429.
Among the states, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Bihar reported the highest number of breast cancer cases and deaths.
Between 2019 and 2023, Uttar Pradesh reported 1.46 lakh cases of breast cancer. Maharashtra (93,130), West Bengal (82,939), Tamil Nadu (75,413), and Bihar (73,882) followed. Similarly, the total deaths reported in these states during the said period ranged between 54,500 (Uttar Pradesh) and 27,500 (Bihar).
In the national capital Delhi, the number of breast cancer cases have gone up from 3,373 in 2019 to 3,859 in 2023. A total of 18,066 breast cancer cases have been reported from the city in the five-year period while the deaths related to it stood at 6,722. The annual breast cancer deaths in Delhi have gone up from 1,255 in 2019 to 1,436 in 2023.
As per the Global Cancer Observatory, breast cancer is the most common type of cancer globally with estimated mortality cases of 6.65 lakh for the year 2022 among females. India ranks highest in the number of estimated breast cancer deaths for that year.
WHAT IS BREAST CANCER?
Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control and form tumours. If left unchecked, the tumours can spread throughout the body and become fatal. There are different kinds of breast cancer, depending on which cells in the breast turn cancerous.
According to the WHO, certain factors increase the risk of breast cancer, including increasing age, obesity, harmful use of alcohol, family history of breast cancer, history of radiation exposure, reproductive history (such as age that menstrual periods began and age at first pregnancy), tobacco use and postmenopausal hormone therapy.
Approximately half of breast cancers develop in women who have no identifiable breast cancer risk factor other than gender (female) and age (over 40 years).
It also said that family history of breast cancer increases the risk of breast cancer, but most women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a known family history of the disease. “Lack of a known family history does not necessarily mean that a woman is at reduced risk,” it added.
As per the WHO, symptoms of breast cancer can include a breast lump or thickening, often without pain; change in size, shape or appearance of the breast; dimpling, redness, pitting or other changes in the skin; change in nipple appearance or the skin surrounding the nipple; and abnormal or bloody fluid from the nipple. Women with an abnormal breast lump should seek medical care, even if the lump does not hurt.
Most breast lumps are not cancerous. Breast lumps that are cancerous are more likely to be successfully treated when they are small and have not spread to nearby lymph nodes.
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