Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Colorectal cancer has emerged as one of India’s fastest-growing public health concerns, climbing into the country’s top five cancers for the first time, according to the latest GLOBOCAN 2024 India fact sheet released by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO-IARC).
The latest estimates, released last month, show colorectal cancer is now the fourth most common cancer in India, with 83,577 new cases recorded in 2024.
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It ranks behind breast cancer, cancers of the lip and oral cavity, and lung cancer. The sharp rise marks a significant shift from GLOBOCAN 2022, when colorectal cancer was the country’s sixth most common cancer.
Among men, colorectal cancer has become the third most common cancer, accounting for 48,536 new cases, after cancers of the lip and oral cavity and lung. Among women, it recorded 35,041 new cases, ranking behind breast, cervical, lip and oral cavity, and ovarian cancers.
The disease also imposed a heavy mortality burden, claiming 38,499 lives in 2024, making it the seventh leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the country.
IMPROVED DIAGNOSIS, GENUINE RISE
The latest rankings reflect both improved diagnosis and a genuine increase in disease burden, experts say, driven largely by rapid lifestyle changes accompanying urbanisation.
“Colorectal cancer is rising in India largely because of changing lifestyle,” said Dr Vinayak Maka, medical oncologist with Ramaiah Memorial Hospital. He pointed to unhealthy diets, increasing obesity, physical inactivity, smoking, alcohol consumption and longer life expectancy as major contributors.
According to Dr Maka, these risk factors have become so widespread that colorectal cancer has now entered the top five cancers across both sexes. However, he stressed that the disease presents a significant opportunity for prevention.
“The good news is that colorectal cancer is largely preventable and highly treatable,” he said, noting that screening through colonoscopy or faecal occult blood tests can detect the disease early, when cure rates are high.
Another worrying trend is the changing age profile of patients. While colorectal cancer has traditionally been associated with older adults, oncologists say they are increasingly diagnosing the disease in younger Indians.
“For many years, colorectal cancer was considered a disease that affected mostly older adults. That picture is beginning to change,” said Dr Nitish Ranjan Acharya, surgical oncologist with Manipal Hospital, Bhubaneswar.
“In clinics today, we are seeing patients in their forties and sometimes even younger.”
THE ROLE OF DIET
Dr Acharya attributed the trend to profound changes in eating habits and daily lifestyles over the past two decades.
Diets increasingly dominated by processed foods, red meat, refined carbohydrates and sugary beverages, combined with reduced intake of fibre-rich foods, sedentary lifestyles, obesity, smoking and alcohol use, are collectively raising the risk.
Equally concerning is delayed diagnosis. Symptoms such as blood in the stool are frequently dismissed as piles, while persistent constipation, diarrhoea or abdominal discomfort are often self-treated with over-the-counter medicines.
By the time many patients seek specialist care, the disease may already be at an advanced stage, reducing treatment options and survival outcomes.
The rise of colorectal cancer also reflects India’s broader epidemiological transition. As infectious diseases decline and life expectancy improves, cancers associated with ageing and lifestyle factors are becoming more prominent.
The latest GLOBOCAN figures suggest colorectal cancer is now firmly part of that transition.
Doctors say reversing the trend will require both individual behaviour change and stronger public health measures. Increasing dietary fibre through fruits, vegetables and whole grains, maintaining a healthy weight, exercising regularly, avoiding tobacco and limiting alcohol can substantially reduce risk.
Equally important is improving awareness of warning signs. Persistent changes in bowel habits, blood in the stool, unexplained weight loss, prolonged abdominal pain or unexplained anaemia warrant medical evaluation rather than self-medication.
Experts also recommend screening for people aged 45 years and above, or earlier for those with a family history of colorectal cancer or bowel polyps. Colonoscopy remains the gold standard because it can detect and remove precancerous polyps before they develop into cancer.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
