Page 31 - Essentia Vol 5 Issue 1

VOL V | ISSUE I | 5 AUGUST 2026 VOL V | ISSUE I | 5 AUGUST 2026
A BIANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF ASSAM CANCER CARE FOUNDATION A BIANNUAL NEWSLETTER OF ASSAM CANCER CARE FOUNDATION
geographic variation. The Northeast carries a per 100,000 stood in sharp contrast to Dibrugarh
burden that is disproportionate to its population district in Assam, which reported one of the lowest
share. This review therefore focuses on what the rates nationally at 4.91 per 100,000, illustrating
region needs from its screening programme and substantial intra-regional variation as well.
why stronger diagnostic follow-up is essential in The human cost of this burden is compounded
routine practice. by survival disparities. A multi-registry analysis
of 11 population-based cancer registries found
The disproportionate burden in
that cervical cancer survival was consistently
northeast india lower in predominantly rural and northeastern
Successive analyses of National Cancer Registry registries compared with urban centres, even as
Programme (NCRP) data have repeatedly survival improved nationally over time. Mizoram
identified the Northeast as the region with the alone reported a lifetime risk of cancer of 18.9%
highest cervical cancer burden in the country. in women, among the highest of any Indian state,
Age-standardised disability-adjusted life years and Aizawl district recorded one of the highest
(DALYs) for cervical cancer were highest in the age-adjusted incidence rates for female cancers
northeast region at 290.1 per 100,000 women, in the country. Hospital-registry-based work
against a national figure of 223.8 and a low of 156.1 from the region has similarly described a survival
in the eastern region; Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, disadvantage for uterine cervical cancer patients
Nagaland, and Karnataka were the only states with treated in Northeast India relative to other parts of
DALYs exceeding 300 per 100,000. Papumpare the country.
district in Arunachal Pradesh recorded an age- Table 1 summarises the key regional indicators that
adjusted incidence rate of 27.7 per 100,000, justify treating Northeast India as a distinct, high-
the highest reported anywhere in Asia, while priority screening zone rather than folding it into
Mizoram’s age-adjusted incidence rate of 23.07 pan-India averages.

Table 1. Selected cervical cancer burden indicators, Northeast India

State / District Indicator Value Source

Papumpare district, Age-adjusted incidence rate 27.7 per 100,000, NCRP
Arunachal Pradesh (cervical cancer) highest in Asia

Mizoram Age-adjusted incidence rate 23.07 per 100,000 NCRP

Aizawl district, Mizoram Lifetime risk of cancer 18.9% NCRP
(females)

Northeast region Age-standardised DALYs 290.1 per 100,000, NCRP/DisMod-II
(composite) highest of all regions

Mizoram, Arunachal State-level DALYs Exceeding 300 per NCRP
Pradesh, Nagaland 100,000

Northeastern registries 5-year relative survival Lower than urban/ 11-PBCR survival
(composite) national registries study

DALY: disability-adjusted life year; NCRP: National Cancer Registry Programme; PBCR: population-based cancer registry.

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