As breast cancer continues to rise, several gaps need to be filled from creating awareness to early detection

The prevalence of breast cancer was about 28,000 in 2021 in Tamil Nadu; in Chennai, the rate of new cases rose from 42.9 per 1,00,000 women in 2013 to 49.8 per 1,00,000 women in 2021

Breast cancer cases continue to rise in Chennai. With the percentage of women being diagnosed late remaining high, there remain several gaps that need to be addressed, oncologists say.

According to the Tamil Nadu Cancer Registry Project Report 2021, the estimated new breast cancers in Tamil Nadu during 2021 was 11,138 with an incidence rate of 25.5 per 1,00,000 women.

“This marks an increase of 25% in the number of cases from 8,865 in 2013,” R. Swaminathan, professor and head, Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Cancer Registry and Associate Director of Cancer Institute (WIA), said.

The prevalence of breast cancer was about 28,000 in 2021 in Tamil Nadu. The incidence rate of new breast cancer cases in Chennai rose from 42.9 per 1,00,000 women in 2013 to 49.8 per 1,00,000 women in 2021, according to the report.

Balaji Jegannathan, associate professor of Medical Oncology, Tamil Nadu Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital, said the incidence of breast cancer continues to be high and a large percentage of them are diagnosed in the locally advanced stage.

“We still do not see many women who are detected early. In the West, proper screening and treatment models have resulted in early initiation of treatment and reduced mortality,” he said.

Worldwide, breast cancer has been increasing steadily over the last decade, Manjula Rao, consultant-Breast Oncoplastic Surgeon, Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, pointed out.