Breast, cervical cancers: A lurking danger among Indian women

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: One in every four healthy women in India carry anomalies that may develop into cervical cancer, and one in every five women for breast cancer. These findings are based on data of 2,400 healthy individuals who underwent cancer screening in the last 10 months at NURA, a collaboration between Fujifilm Healthcare and Dr Kutty’s Healthcare offering AI-enabled imaging and expert healthcare at Bengaluru.

Analysing the tests, the NURA doctors found that one in 20 healthy people show anomalies in lungs that may go on to develop into lung cancer, while one in 50 show anomalies for colon and prostate cancer. These anomalies must be investigated further through a biopsy to take precautionary measures against cancer.

Dr Tausif Ahmed Thangalvadi, Medical Director, NURA, said, “After screening 2,400 healthy individuals for cancer over the last 10 months at at NURA, we found an anomaly rate ranging from 24% for cervical cancer to 20% for breast cancer, 5-6% for lung cancer and 2-3% for colon and prostate cancer.”

“Indians suffer from cancer- phobia. Despite huge advancements in healthcare, a misconception persists that cancer cannot be treated. The reality is that cancer is easily treatable if detected early. Survival rate of cancer patients detected in stage 1 is 93% whereas it is only 24% if detected in stage 4. This shows why healthy and asymptomatic individuals must undergo preventive cancer screening every year and not wait for symptoms to appear. However, in India, cancer tends to be detected in more advanced stages, and hence the death rate remains high, he added

Periodic screening
He added: “The best time to screen for cancer is when you’re healthy. Periodic screening is recommended for those who have a stressful and busy lifestyle, go on frequent business trips, and suffer from lack of sleep and exercise. People with a family history of cancer and lifestyle factors like obesity, smoking or excessive drinking can benefit greatly from early and periodic health screening.” Dr Thangalvadi said screening helps in identifying previously unrecognised health risks. 
Mortality rate 70%
The mortality rate for the top 10 cancers in India is approximately 70%. In fact, cancer is the second most common cause of death in India after cardiovascular disease. One in nine Indians will go on to develop cancer during their lifetime.

Screening methods
At NURA, cancer screening is done through radiology, along with support of artificial intelligence (Ai) software for higher efficiency and lowest possible radiation.