3 min readMar 7, 2026 06:56 AM IST
First published on: Mar 7, 2026 at 06:56 AM IST
An analysis in The Lancet Oncology, drawing on data from the Global Burden of Disease study, has revealed that the incidence of breast cancer in India has more than doubled over the past three decades. It is now the most commonly diagnosed cancer affecting Indian women. The age-standardised incidence of breast cancer has increased from 13 cases per 1 lakh women in 1990 to 29.4 per 1 lakh in 2023. The mortality rate has also climbed significantly, from 8.9 to 15.5 per 1 lakh women, marking a 74 per cent increase. The data points to a mounting public health challenge.
The bleakness of the statistics, however, obscures an important fact: Advancement in surgery and therapies has transformed survival prospects if detected early. In high-income countries, widespread screening and public awareness have helped stabilise mortality rates. India’s challenge is to replicate those gains in a health system that serves a vast and diverse population with limited resources. As economic growth reshapes lifestyles and reproductive patterns, cases have climbed, especially in cities, and increasingly among women in the age group between 20 and 54. Delayed childbirth, lifestyle changes and rising metabolic risk factors such as high blood sugar and obesity have contributed to this shift. Early detection remains patchy; mammography rates are strikingly low — data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) and Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI Wave 1) show that only 1.3 per cent of women aged 45 years and above have undergone a mammography. Many women seek medical attention only when the disease has progressed considerably.
Screening must reach millions of women across villages and cities, awareness campaigns must challenge stigma and delay, and diagnostic and treatment services must expand. Experts also argue that India has an opportunity to rethink its screening strategy and opt for a more targeted approach — identifying women at higher risk through family history, reproductive factors, among others. Even though the national cancer registry covers only about 10 to 15 per cent of the total population, with its expanding digital health infrastructure, India has the capacity to build an expansive risk-adapted model. Success with polio eradication and the Covid vaccination shows India can implement large, decentralised public health programmes effectively. The real test is whether policy can move as quickly as the disease.
