Elderly in Bengaluru face growing cancer risk, study finds

One in seven elderly men and one in eight elderly women in Bengaluru are at risk of cancer, with the numbers steeply rising over the years, a study from ICMR’s National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR) shows.

In Bengaluru, senior citizens already make up the majority of cancer patients. Of all male cancer patients included in Bengaluru’s population-based cancer registry (PBCR) between 2012 and 2016, 53.8 per cent were aged above 60 years. Among female patients, this proportion was 41.6 per cent.

Across India, cancers among the elderly are increasing. Though senior citizens are only 11.2 per cent of India’s population, they will account for 48.2 per cent of all cancer cases by 2025, the study says. As per the projection, breast cancer will make up about a quarter of cases among elderly women, followed by cervical cancer. Among men, the highest cases will be of lung cancer and prostate cancer.

The study, based on an analysis of the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP), was published this month in the journal Public Health by Elsevier.

Steep rise in Bengaluru since 1984

Analysing Bengaluru’s PBCRs between 1984 and 2016, the study found that cancer among elderly women rose annually at the rate of 1.7%, and among men at the rate of 1.3%.

Among women in Bengaluru, uterine, lung and breast cancers saw a steep rise over the 32-year period. Uterine cancer rose at the annual rate of 5.8%, lung cancer at 5%, breast cancer at 4.3%, and ovarian cancer at 4.2%. However, cervical cancer declined at the rate of 0.5% per year. After northeastern states which generally have higher cancer rates, Bengaluru has the highest Age-Adjusted Rate (AAR) of cancer incidence among elderly women at 654.1 per lakh of population.

Among elderly men in Bengaluru, the increase was highest in prostate and lung cancer, which rose annually at the rate of 3.1% and 2.2% respectively. Stomach cancers declined at the annual rate of 0.2% though.

The study advocates increasing the age limit of breast cancer screening among women to 70 years, and also preventive screening for certain cancers like lung cancer that have low survival rates.