Cancer becoming a ‘public health concern’ in Kerala, says Economic Review 2025

Cancer is becoming a “public health concern” in Kerala due to “socio-demographic” and “epidemiological changes” as well as the high prevalence of risk factors. With a population of 3.34 crore, the State is predicted to see over 66,000 new cases every year, says the Economic Review 2025, presented in the Assembly on January 28.

A sub-section titled ‘Cancer incidence’ in the chapter ‘Medical and Public Health’ in the review says that the cumulative risk of developing cancer in any organ or tissue in the 0-74 age group in Kerala is one in seven in males and one in nine in females. In a sample size of 20,829, the five common types of cancers in males were lung 4,337 (20.8%), mouth 1,524 (7.3%), stomach 1,422 (6.8%), tongue 1,076 (5.2%), and larynx 982 (4.7%). In a sample size of 18,017, in females, the common cancers were breast 5,509 (30.6%), cervix 1,395 (7.7%), ovary 1,177 (6.5%), mouth 1,009 (5.6%), and lung 714 (4%). These figures are based on a 10-year-trend in north Kerala recorded at the hospital-based cancer registry at the Malabar Cancer Centre-Post Graduate Institute of Oncology Sciences and Research, Thalassery, Kannur,

As many as 19,786 of the patients (50.9%) were diagnosed at an advanced stage (Stage III and Stage IV). Only 10,182 (26.2%) were diagnosed at an early stage (Stage I and Stage II). The lung cancers in both males and females showed an increasing trend between 2010 and 2020, as per the cancer registry. The review says that delays in early detection, huge treatment costs, minimal treatment centres and lack of awareness contribute to high mortality of the disease.

The article says that 6,406 inpatients (IP) and 1,20,205 outpatients (OP) were treated at the Malabar Cancer Centre in 2024-25. The new cases were 5,633. During 2025-26 (up to August 31, 2025), the number of IP and OP were 2,883 and 67,166, respectively, and new cases were 2,459. Based on the data from the last five years, the average number of new cases detected every year at the centre is 5,253. Total surgeries done during 2024-25 were 3,334 and during 2025-26 (up to August 2025) were 1,614.

The daily average patient visits at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC), Thiruvananthapuram, one of the top such centres in the country, in 2024-25 were 863. In 2024-25, 14,770 new cases, 2,47,684 review cases and 12,652 in-patient admissions were done there. The average number of new cases detected every year at the Cochin Cancer Research Centre is 1,200. The number of outpatients treated in 2024-25 was 1,0026, IP were 184 and new cases were 1,153. In 2025-26 (up to August 31), the number of OP and new cases were 7,395 and 883, respectively. The number of IPs during 2025-26 (up to August 31) was 120. The total number of surgeries conducted in the period was 173 and 107, respectively.