Cancer likely to rise five-fold in India by 2025

With a million new cases being reported every year, cancer seems to be tightening its grip on India. Experts say the incidence of the killer disease is expected to rise five-fold by 2025. According to medical professionals, lung and oral cancers were the most common among men while cervix and breast cancer were striking more and more women. Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths in India, which has nearly three million patients suffering from the disease, they said. Annually, nearly 500,000 people die of cancer in India. The WHO said this number is expected to rise to 700,000 by 2015. "The number of cancer cases in India is increasing every year," P. K. Julka, head of the oncology department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, told IANS. According to WHO, lung, oral, lip, throat and neck cancers are the most common among men while women suffer more from cervix, breast and ovarian cancers.