Changing Pattern of Common Cancers in the Last Five Years in Kashmir, India: A Retrospective Observational Study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Cancer is emerging as a major health problem worldwide. Profile and pattern of cancers vary as per the geographic, ethnic, and sociocultural background of the population. It is imperative to know the change in the pattern of cancer in the population to formulate an effective strategy for its control and management. Objective To study the changing trends and epidemiological distribution of common cancer types in an ethnic population of Northern India. Materials and Methods In this retrospective observational study, we audited records of 22,188 patients with histologically documented cancer registered between January 2014 and December 2018 in the regional cancer center of a tertiary care institute in North India. For all identified patients, medical records were reviewed for demographic information (age of diagnosis, sex, type of cancer, and select risk factors). The data analysis was done using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows from IBM Corp. Data were expressed as frequencies with percentages. The incidence and trends were depicted through tables, and line diagrams were used to show the changes (if any) over the last 5 years. Results The most common cancer reported in the last 5 years was lung cancer, overall (10.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 10.2–11.0) as well as in men (14.8%; 95% CI, 14.2–15.4) and breast cancer in females (13.5%; 95% CI, 12.8–14.2). The top five cancers reported at our center were lung (10.6%), esophagus (9.1%), stomach (9.0%), breast (6.0%), and colon (3.8%). Compared with that, the top five cancers reported from our center in 2012 were esophagus and gastroesophageal junction (17.2%), lung (11.9%), stomach (9.7%), colorectal (7.1%), and breast (6.5%). Prostate cancer was reported in 3.4% of cases, which was much higher than that reported in 2012 (1.7%). Surprisingly, thyroid cancer (6.4%) was the fourth commonest cancer reported in females, while it did not figure in the top 10 cancers in the 2012 report. Expectantly, cervix cancer did not figure among the top 10 cancers in women. Conclusion There is a change in the pattern of cancers. Lung and breast have emerged as the most commonly occurring cancers in men and women, respectively, whereas there was a slight downward trend in the incidence of esophageal cancer.