India’s escalating cancer burden calls for a vigilant and robust cancer prevention strategy. Prevention acts as a protective shield, stopping patients from entering the devastating cycle of late-stage diagnosis and intensive treatment. The World Health Organization estimates that four in ten cancers are preventable. However, Indian clinicians believe the potential impact is even greater in the country. In fact, prevention could avert up to 70% of oral and breast cancer cases—two cancers that currently account for the highest cancer-related mortality among Indian men and women.
Shifting the National Focus from Treatment to Prevention
Speaking at the ETHealthWorld Oncology Leadership Summit, Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, Director of ACTREC, Tata Memorial Centre, emphasised the urgent need to reorient national cancer strategies toward prevention. He pointed out that expanding hospital infrastructure alone cannot keep pace with the rising cancer burden, even as facilities grow rapidly across India. Although most patients now have some form of public or private insurance, treatment-heavy approaches remain unsustainable.
Importantly, many common cancers in India—such as oral, cervical, and breast cancers—are largely preventable. Therefore, early intervention and widespread awareness must become central pillars of public health policy. The real opportunity lies in stopping cancer before it starts, rather than relying solely on treatment after diagnosis.
Prevention and Screening Can Save Lives
India’s most prevalent cancers respond well to early detection. For instance, oral cancer often takes 10 to 15 years to develop, creating a large window for prevention and early diagnosis. Dr Chaturvedi highlighted a study conducted in Dharavi, Mumbai, which showed that mass breast cancer screening reduced mortality by 30%.
As reported by OC Academy, similarly, ACTREC’s large-scale screening programmes demonstrated a 93% diagnostic concurrence rate across 40,000 patients. Building on this success, the institute is developing artificial intelligence–based tools to further ease the burden on physicians. However, despite these advances, participation in government-run screening programmes remains alarmingly low at around 3%. As a result, clinicians must promote technology-enabled and mobile-based screening to detect cancer at reversible stages, especially in low-resource settings.
Lifestyle Changes Are Central to Cancer Prevention
Long-term reduction in cancer incidence depends heavily on addressing lifestyle-related risk factors. Tobacco, alcohol, and areca nut consumption remain major drivers of cancer and other non-communicable diseases. In addition, poor oral hygiene significantly increases the risk of oral cancers.
Although tobacco use is declining among younger generations, alcohol consumption is rising sharply. Alcohol metabolises into acetaldehyde, a known carcinogen that damages DNA and increases cancer risk. Therefore, India must decisively shift toward prevention and early detection to reverse its growing cancer burden and reduce avoidable deaths.