# Cancer Statistics, 2020: Report from National Cancer Registry Programme, India

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-mathur-ncrp-cancer-statistics-2020/  
OnCo record `paper-mathur-ncrp-cancer-statistics-2020` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

India's official cancer count: about 1.39 million new cancers in 2020, led by breast, lung, mouth, cervix and tongue, with most breast, cervical and head and neck cancers found only once locally advanced.

## Summary

Analysis of 28 population-based and 58 hospital-based registries of the ICMR National Cancer Registry Programme (667,666 cases, 2012-2016). The projected number of cancer patients in India for 2020 was 1,392,179. The five leading sites were breast, lung, mouth, cervix uteri and tongue. Most patients presented at a locally advanced stage (breast 57.0%, cervix 60.0%, head and neck 66.6%, stomach 50.8%), while lung cancer presented mainly with distant metastasis (44.0% of men, 47.6% of women). Incidence rose over time at all registries, fastest in Kamrup urban (3.8% annual change); the highest age-adjusted rates were in Aizawl (men, 269.4 per 100,000) and Papumpare (women, 219.8). A 2022 update estimated 1,461,427 cases and a 12.8% rise by 2025.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Journal: JCO Global Oncology
- Year: 2020
- DOI: 10.1200/GO.20.00122
- Authors: Mathur P, Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, et al.
- Findings: 1,392,179 projected new cancers in India in 2020 (1,461,427 estimated for 2022; +12.8% by 2025).; Leading sites: breast, lung, mouth, cervix uteri, tongue; tobacco-related cancers dominate in men.; Locally advanced at diagnosis: breast 57.0%, cervix 60.0%, head and neck 66.6%, stomach 50.8%.; Highest incidence in the north-east (Aizawl and Papumpare districts).
- What it means: India's cancer problem is a late-diagnosis problem as much as a treatment problem: the same cancers that dominate (oral, cervical, breast) are the ones screening and vaccination can prevent or catch early. The numbers set the priorities of the National Cancer Grid, PM-JAY oncology packages and the national screening programme.
- Caveats: Registries cover about a tenth of the population and are urban-weighted; national figures are projections.; GLOBOCAN 2022 estimates for India (1,413,316 cases) use different methods and are not identical.; Stage data come from hospital registries and may not represent patients never reaching hospital.

## Sources

- JCO Global Oncology 2020: https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00122
- 2022 estimates and 2025 projection (IJMR): https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_1821_22

## Connected records

- cancers: [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Gastric & gastro-oesophageal junction cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/gastric/), [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/), [HR-positive / HER2-negative breast cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/breast-hr-positive/), [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- technologies: [Cancer registries and population surveillance](https://onco.cc/technologies/cancer-registries-surveillance/)
- institutions: [Indian Council of Medical Research](https://onco.cc/institutions/icmr/), [National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NINE, Bengaluru)](https://onco.cc/institutions/icmr-ncrp/), [National Health Authority (Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY)](https://onco.cc/institutions/nha-pmjay/)
- people: [Prashant Mathur](https://onco.cc/people/mathur-prashant/)
- bottlenecks: [Data silos](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-data-silos/), [The hardest cancers are found late](https://onco.cc/bottlenecks/b-early-detection/)
- journals: [JCO global oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/jco-global-oncology/)

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