“Breast cancer is considered to be the most common cancer among women. One in 20 or 4 per cent of women in India have the risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. It is predicted that by 2030, we will diagnose almost two lakh cases per year,” Dr Shalaka Joshi, breast cancer surgeon at the Tata Memorial Hospital
Mumbai: Breast cancer accounts for 30 per cent of all cancers in women in India and the number could rise to around two lakh cases per year by 2030, experts said on Saturday at a conference on breast cancer management by Women’s Cancer Initiative and Tata Memorial Hospital (WCI-TMH) here.
Lack of exercise or physical activity is linked to almost doubling the risk of breast cancer, said Dr Shalaka Joshi, breast cancer surgeon at the Tata Memorial Hospital.
“Breast cancer is considered to be the most common cancer among women. One in 20 or 4 per cent of women in India have the risk of developing breast cancer in their lifetime. It is predicted that by 2030, we will diagnose almost two lakh cases per year,” Dr Joshi told reporters.
Rapid urbanisation, westernization of lifestyle as well changes in reproductive behaviour and dietary pattern are some of the reasons for the increasing incidence, she said.
“We eat a lot of junk food, fatty food, processed and frozen food, which was not the situation earlier. All this also leads to an increase in the risk of breast cancer. Lack of exercise or lack of physical activity is associated with almost doubling the risk of breast cancer. Obesity is also an important factor, not just breast cancer but also for other lifestyle-related diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes, heart diseases among others,” she added.
Approximately 10 per cent of breast cancers can be genetic and may be inherited across families, said Tata Memorial Centre medical oncologist Dr Prabhat Bhargava.
Having a close relative with breast or ovarian cancer can increase one’s risk of having breast cancer after the age of 50, he said.
“Globally breast cancer risk is usually at 50-60 years. However, with India having a higher proportion of young women and a higher proportion of young breast cancer patients, more genetic testing laboratories are needed. Once tested positive, certain precautions can be taken in women harbouring these harmful mutations to reduce the chance of developing 2nd cancer in the breast or elsewhere,” Dr Bhargava said.
Breast screening with annual MRI can help detect cancers early in these women, and breast removal with reconstruction with or without removal of ovaries can reduce the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers in future, he said.
Patients of breast cancer having genetic mutations can also benefit from certain chemotherapy drugs which can be added to their treatment regimen, further improving outcomes, Dr Bhargava added.