Breast cancers are the most prevalent cancers in
India. They are the leading causes of death. Two major reasons that are
associated with breast cancer are BRCA1 and BRCA2. Furthermore, in India about 40%
cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women <35 years of age. According to
National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP’s) report the number of breast cancer
cases are likely to increase by nearly 20% from 2020 to 2025.
India along with United States and China
collectively accounts for almost one third of the global breast cancer burden. Asia
has 44% of the world’s breast cancer deaths. Approximately 25% of the female
cancer cases in India are breast cancer. The mortality-to-incidence ratio is
found to reach 0.66 in rural registries and 0.08 in urban registries.
The ICMR/WHO national breast cancer management
protocols are at a primitive stage. India has a low breast cancer survival rate
of 66%. The quality of breast cancer treatment depends on various factors like
the patient’s outlook, residential areas, spend on the treatment, etc but a large
proportion of patients are treated with inadequate/inappropriate initial
surgery.
The survival rates of breast cancer in India are
low because detection takes place late. Cancer survival becomes more difficult
in higher stages of its growth. Breast cancer is a treatable disease and
chances of survival are high if it’s detected in time. Early diagnosis, thus,
is imperative.
From diagnosis to monitoring, the journey of
breast cancer patient is agonizing. Cancer is diagnosed based on a tissue
sample (biopsy). Almost 50% of all cases are in the age group of 25-50. One in
twenty-eight Indian women is likely to develop breast cancer during her
lifetime.
The most common causes of breast cancer include:
-
- Medical history – If one has been
diagnosed with it in one breast, the chances of it occurring in the other
breast are high
- Family history – About 5-10% of the
breast cancer cases are hereditary
- Genes – People who inherit
harmful variants of the genes have increased risks of several cancers – most
notably breast and ovarian cancer
Authored by (at the time of writing):
Arindam Gupta, Executive Vice President - PGA Labs