bio event
Let’s Talk Cancer in North East India
Experts at a recent event organized by the Wellcome Trust/DBT India Alliance and Indian
Institute of Public Health in Shillong, discussed the worrying trend of rising cancer incidences
in the North-East
BY BIOVOICE NEWS DESK
I
ndia’s emergence as a fast-growing economy
and its consequential change in lifestylerelated behaviors are partially responsible for
the country’s increasing cancer burden. This
disease is among the top leading causes of
deaths in both rural and urban India. According to
the recent statistics, some of the highest incidences
of cancer rates among men and women in the
country were observed in Aizawl district in Mizoram
and East Khasi district in Meghalaya.
Latest data from Cancer Registry program of the
Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) shows
that the North Eastern part of India and particularly
Meghalaya has the highest incidence of cancer, and
also the highest proportion of tobacco-related
cancers in the country (male 69.5 percent, female 45
percent). The data also shows that highest rates of
tongue cancer and hypopharynx cancer in the world
have been reported in Meghalaya.
In the above backdrop, Wellcome Trust/DBT India
Alliance and the Indian Institute of Public Health
Shillong organised a public engagement event “Let’s
Talk Cancer in the North East” on 26 July 2016 at
the State Convention Centre, Shillong, to discuss the
issue of cancer in the north east. This event is part of
Voices for Health, an initiative that aims to celebrate
biomedical research, discuss its impact and to create
better understanding of public health issues in the
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