Cancer among top causes of premature deaths in women: Lancet

Of the 2·3 million women who die prematurely from cancer each year, 1·5 million deaths, or 65.2% of the deaths could be averted via primary prevention or early detection strategies, according to a new report by The Lancet.

The rest 800,000 deaths or nearly 35% could be averted if all women everywhere could access optimal cancer care.

The Lancet's new global analysis shows 1·3 million women’s lives of all ages could be saved if just four of the known risk factors, namely, tobacco, alcohol, obesity, and infections, were addressed.

Cancer ranks in the top three causes of "premature mortality" among women in almost all countries of the world, including India.

The Lancet's contributions of risk factors in emerging economies, including India, show four key determinants of health and cancer, risk, and women. These include infections (23%), tobacco (6%), alcohol (1%), and obesity (1%) for India.

The report highlights the story of a 36-year-old woman from Nala Sopara in Mumbai, which reveals her ordeal of living with cancer, domestic violence, and poverty.

Globally, women’s health continues to be focused on "reproductive and maternal health", and they have around the same burden of cancer as men, representing 48% of new cases and 44% of deaths worldwide.

"There are important under-examined social implications and economic repercussions for families and societies when individuals experience cancer, in any country, at any age. This is particularly stark for women raising children, whose premature deaths from cancer resulted in an estimated 1 million maternally orphaned children in 2020 alone," the study titled 'Women, power, and cancer: A Lancet Commission' shows.

Overall, cancer in women is less amenable to primary prevention than is cancer in men, according to the study. “Even the causes of breast cancer, the most common cancer among women globally, are poorly understood, and of the risks identified, most (such as genetics and reproductive factors) are not amenable to change.”

The study suggests more research is needed to better understand the causes of cancer in women, including occupational and environmental factors.

In 2020, 9.23 million women worldwide were diagnosed with cancer, and 4.43 million women died of cancer. By 2040, these numbers are projected to increase to 13.3 million new cases and 7.1 million deaths, representing a 44% increase in new cases and a 60% increase in deaths.

In terms of incidence, the five leading cancer types in women were breast, colorectal, lung, cervical, and thyroid cancer, contributing to over half (53·7%) of the total number of female cancer cases.

In terms of cancer deaths among women, the same top four cancers — breast, lung, colorectal, and cervical cancer — were the leading causes in 2020, and with stomach cancer in fifth place; these comprised 54% of the total mortality burden, The Lancet says.

In countries ranked as low on the Human Development Index (HDI), as much as 72% of cancer deaths among women were premature (younger than age 70), compared with 36% in countries ranked as having very high HDI.

"Patriarchy dominates cancer care, research, and policy-making. Those in positions of power decide what is prioritised, funded, and studied," the study finds.

In priority actions, The Lancet study says data on sex, gender, and other sociodemographic factors should be routinely collected in cancer health statistics, publicly reported, and updated.