NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: Jammu recorded an alarming trend with the majority of cancer patients reporting to hospital only after the disease had progressed to advanced stages indicating lack of awareness and social stigma.
Data from State Cancer Institute at the Government Medical College Jammu paints a sobering picture, with 9,427 new diagnoses between 2019 and 2024, with the majority of the patients reporting to the hospital only after the disease had advanced to Stage III or Stage IV.
Jammu district recorded for the highest number of cases at 3,671, followed by Udhampur 943, Kathua 855, Doda 694, Rajouri 675, Samba (580), Reasi 532, Poonch 424, Kishtwar 292, and Ramban 222. Another 539 patients were from outside the Jammu division. According to the latest Hospital-Based Cancer Registry data from 2020 to 2024, 5,351 patients were men and 4,076 women. The male to female ratio for registered cancer patients stands at 1.31:1, indicating a higher prevalence among males in the recorded dataset.
Cancer is a multi-factorial disease, the risk factors of which include ageing population, sedentary lifestyle, use of tobacco products, alcohol, unhealthy diet and air pollution.
As per official handout the Information is meticulously gathered by our HBCR staff using a standardized core form. Software Entry Collected data is entered into specialized software provided by ICMR-NCDIR, ensuring consistency and accuracy. Directory Publication The data is regularly published in the ICMRNCDIR Directory, making it accessible for national analysis.
Lung cancer emerged as the most common malignancy with 1,338 cases, followed by head and neck cancers 1,005, breast 704), hepatobiliary 681, genito-urinary 654, hematological cancers 653, esophageal 519, oral cancers 519, and cervical cancer 494.
Other major cancers included intestinal (456), cancers of unknown primary or CUPs (410), ovarian (354), lymphoma (305), stomach 279, brain (263), prostate (233) and bone and soft-tissue cancers (210), in addition to 186 other women’s cancers, 111 skin cancers, and 53 classified as other types, the data shows.
Age-wise data shows 4,234 cases in the 60–80 year age group — the highest among all categories — while 3,669 cases were reported in the 40–60 year age group. A total of 964 patients were aged 20–40, 456 were above 80, and 102 were children and adolescents aged 0–20.
Staging data shows an alarming trend, with 4,029 patients diagnosed in Stage IV and 2,744 in Stage III, indicating that a majority of patients reached the hospital only after the disease had progressed to advanced stages. Another 1,958 cases were detected in Stage II, and 696 in Stage I.
Given the sharp rise in cancer cases, there is an urgent need for stronger preventive measures, improved treatment facilities, and greater public awareness to ensure early diagnosis and timely care.
Besides, the rise in cancer cases is also coinciding with the increase in cancer mortality cases across Jammu and Kashmir. As per figures from the union health Ministry, a total of 35,623 persons in J&K died with cancer between the years 2018 and 2022. Figures further suggest that the number of cancer-related fatalities has been steadily rising.
