According to data from the organization, 20% of cancer patients who called an NGO-run helpline to get a second opinion were below 40, suggesting an increase in cancer cases among younger individuals. A group of doctors founded the Cancer Mukt Bharat Foundation, recording 1,368 callers between March 1 and May 15.
The study found that 60 percent of cancer patients under the age of 40 were men.
It also found that the most common instances were head and neck cancer (26%), followed by gastrointestinal cancers (16%), breast cancer (15%) and blood cancers (9%).
The NGO said that most of the calls came from Hyderabad, followed by Meerut, Mumbai and New Delhi.
The helpline number (93-555-20202) was set up to allow people to receive a free second opinion. It is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Saturday.
The principal investigator and senior oncologist heading the Cancer Mukt Bharat Campaign, Dr Ashish Gupta, stated that almost hundreds of calls are received daily on the helpline, which has proven to be a valuable support system for cancer patients in India since its launch.
“This study helps us make a more targeted cancer approach towards treatment and make India ‘Cancer Mukt’. We found head and neck cancer was most prevalent which is nearly entirely preventable by lifestyle modification, vaccinations and screening strategies. Breast and colon cancers have very effective screening strategies for finding cancer in the early stages. Unfortunately as is representative of the population at large in India we found nearly 2/3rds of cancers were detected late likely due to low adoption of proper screening,” Dr Gupta said.