Only 1% of women are being screened for cervical cancer in India, despite the World Health Organization’s recommendation that at least 70% of women should get tested. The share of women screened remains around the 1% mark for oral and breast cancer too.
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Table 1 | The table shows the share of women aged 15-49 who underwent specific screening tests for cancer in 2019-21, across States (in %).
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The table shows that cancer screening did not cross the 10% mark for any type of cancer in any State.
Also read: Data Point | The gender disparity in healthcare
However, many southern States and select States in the Northeast have shown initiative in testing more women. In Tamil Nadu, for instance, 7% of women said that they were screened for cervical cancer and 3.8% for breast cancer — the highest among the two types across States. Kerala, Mizoram, Manipur and Maharashtra also crossed the 1% mark under these two types. In Andhra Pradesh, 5% of women said that they were screened for oral cancer, the highest for this type of cancer across States. On the other hand, only 0.1% of women were screened for any type of cancer in West Bengal, the lowest in India. Gujarat too performed poorly with 0.2%.
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Altogether in India, the share of women screened for cervical, breast, and oral cancer stood at 1.2%, 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, as of 2019-21. In contrast, the share of women screened for cervical cancer in advanced economies such as Sweden, Ireland, the U.S. and the U.K. was more than 70%.
Chart 2 | The chart shows the share of women aged 30-49 who were screened for cervical cancer as of 2019 in BRICS nations (in %).
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Even if only comparable economies were considered, India lagged far behind. Russia led the list with 93%, followed by 58% in Brazil, and 52% in South Africa. In India, Egypt and Ethiopia, coverage was less than 5% (Chart 2).
Chart 3 | The chart shows share of women screened for breast cancer in Tamil Nadu, across age-groups (in %).
A look at Tamil Nadu’s data throws light on the way forward and some potential pain points. Chart 3 shows that even in the State with the highest screening share, most tests were conducted among older women.
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A recent survey published by Apollo Hospitals, which analysed 1.5 lakh of its health screenings in five years, found that 25% of breast cancer incidence occurred in women aged under 40 years in India. This stresses the importance of casting the net wide and encouraging younger women to get screened too.
Chart 4 | The chart shows the share of women screened for cervical cancer in Tamil Nadu, across various levels of schooling (in %).
Over 10% of women who completed less than five years and between five and seven years of schooling in Tamil Nadu were screened for cervical cancer. The share reduced considerably as the years of school education increased.
Chart 5 | The chart shows the share of women screened for cervical and breast cancer in Tamil Nadu, across social groups (in %).
The share of women screened from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes communities was higher compared to other communities.
Data from Charts 4 and Chart 5 show how state intervention helped Tamil Nadu achieve respectable levels of screening. It shows that State-sponsored screening drives at government health centres make cancer testing accessible to low-income groups as well. It also shows that lack of awareness is not the only factor behind poor cancer detection, as higher education levels have not led to more screenings.
Elsa Sunny is a student at the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai
vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in, rebecca.varghese@thehindu.co.in
Source: National Family Health Survey-5, WHO
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