Breast cancer overtakes cervical cancer as top killer among women in India: Study

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

New Delhi: Breast cancer has now taken over cervical cancer as the top killer among women in India, whereas lung cancer is the biggest cause of deaths among men, says a new report.

According to the Global Burden of Cancer 2013 report, deaths due to cancer around the world have increased from 12 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2013. In India, deaths from the disease have increased by 60 percent.

With the rising cases of cancers, it has now emerged as the second biggest killer disease globally after heart disease.

The report, which is released worldwide on Friday, indicates that liver cancer in India has increased by 88 percent in the last 23 years, while oesophageal cancer increased by 64 percent.

Globally, lung cancer took the most lives of both men and women.

In India, stomach cancer cases grew by 33 percent among men since 1990, while prostate cancer cases shot up by 220 percent. The report showed that new cervical cases in women grew at 0.2 percent in the same period, whereas breast cancer cases increased by 166 percent.

In 2013, 47,587 women died due to breast cancer, while 40,985 died from cervical cancer.

The report also indicates that mouth cancer is the second most diagnosed cancer in India with new cases increased by almost 130% since 1990.