Cancer Risk in India: 1 in 10 May Develop Disease Before Age 75, WHO Data Shows
Cancer is becoming a major health challenge in India. According to the latest GLOBOCAN estimates from the World Health Organization, nearly one in ten Indians is at risk of developing cancer before the age of 75. Additionally, about seven in every hundred Indians face the risk of dying from the disease before reaching that age.
In 2022, India recorded 1.41 million new cancer cases and 916,827 deaths. More than 3.25 million people were living with a cancer diagnosis made within the previous five years. The burden is increasing: estimates in the WHO Global Status Report on Cancer 2025 indicate that India had approximately 1.6 million new cases in 2024, with around 900,000 deaths. Experts project that annual new cases could climb to 2.8 million by 2050, driven by population growth, ageing, and changing lifestyles.
India and China together account for more than half of the global cancer burden, making Asia the epicentre of the disease. Without stronger prevention and early detection, experts warn that the region will face an even larger share of the global burden in the coming decades.
Why are cancer cases rising in India?
India’s growing cancer burden results from multiple factors. One is demographic: Indians are living longer, and cancer is primarily a disease of ageing. As life expectancy increases, so does the number of people vulnerable to cancer.
Lifestyle changes accompanying urbanisation also play a key role. Rising obesity, unhealthy diets, reduced physical activity, excessive alcohol consumption, and prolonged exposure to air pollution are contributing to higher rates of several cancers. Smoking continues to drive lung cancer, while smokeless tobacco products—including gutkha, khaini, and betel quid—remain a major reason India has one of the world’s highest burdens of oral cancer.
Improved diagnostic facilities have led to more cancers being detected than in previous decades, but experts stress that this does not fully explain the rising incidence.
Dr Isabelle Soerjomataram, Deputy Head of the Cancer Surveillance Unit at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), notes that prevention has become especially important in India because lung, oral cavity, cervical, breast, and colorectal cancers account for a substantial proportion of the country’s disease burden. She also points to stark differences in access to healthcare between metropolitan centres and nearby rural districts, where delayed diagnosis remains common.
India’s unique cancer profile
India’s cancer pattern differs significantly from that seen in many Western countries. Breast cancer has emerged as the most common cancer, accounting for 192,020 new cases in 2022. It is followed by lip and oral cavity cancer (143,759 cases), cervical cancer (127,526), lung cancer (81,748), and oesophageal cancer (70,637).
Among women, breast cancer accounts for more than one in four new diagnoses, while cervical cancer remains the second leading cancer despite being largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening. Among men, cancers of the lip and oral cavity remain the leading diagnosis, reflecting the continuing impact of tobacco use. Another concern is the growing incidence of colorectal cancer, associated with ageing populations, dietary changes, and sedentary lifestyles.
Prevention offers the greatest opportunity
Experts believe that a substantial proportion of cancers can either be prevented or detected early enough for successful treatment. Priorities include stronger tobacco control, HPV vaccination, routine screening for breast, cervical, and oral cancers, healthier diets, regular physical activity, reduced alcohol consumption, and greater awareness of warning signs.
