Tip of an ICEBERG: The Growing Cancer Burden in India and How to Manage it

India has indisputably transitioned from the era of communicable diseases to the era of non-communicable diseases. It has a substantial impact on public health at multiple levels. These repercussions of cancer are only expected to increase in future due to our increasing elderly population. The major takeaways of the GLOBOCAN 2020 report include the rising global burden of cancer, global disparity in cancer incidence and mortality in different geographic regions, and the impact of the human development index (HDI) on cancer incidence and projected global cancer burden by 2040. Among the top five cancers in females, breast cancer was found to be the highest, followed by three female genital organs cervix, ovary and corpus uteri. Among males, three sites; lung, mouth and tongue, were limited with tobacco-related cancers. The new statistics should serve as a ‘wake-up call’ for the governments and policy makers. we need to develop region-specific solutions considering our resources and the kind of cancer burden present in every area. Developing effective policies and their execution will result in decrease in cancer morbidity and mortality, which will lead to huge economic benefits for the country.