Cancer second largest killer in India: Report

Cancer kills the most number of people in India after heart disease, according to a Global Burden of Cancer report 2013 published by the medical journal JAMA Oncology.

According to it, there were 1.17 million new cancer cases in India whereas 6,75,000 deaths in 2013. There is a sharp increase from the figures from 1990 when the numbers registered were 6,24,000 cancer cases and 4,26,000 deaths. Late diagnosis of cancer in advanced stages leads to late treatment, causing more deaths in India.

In India, mouth cancer tops the chart with 84,700 deaths in 2013, the report says. The figure has doubled since 1990 when 34,000 deaths had occurred due to mouth cancer.

The study researched 28 cancer groups across 188 countries. It found that in 2013, at least 15 million people were diagnosed with cancer, and there were 8.2 million deaths worldwide.

The study also says that lung, stomach and liver cancer were the leading causes of death in women and men around the world.