Head and neck cancer dominance and emerging multi-site burden: a three-year hospital-based cancer registry analysis from central India (2022-2024)

Authors

  • Gunjan Shrivastav Department of Medical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Gadipal Singh Rajput ICMR, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Shailesh Shrivastav Department of Information Technology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Vallari Pawar ICMR, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Pankaj Gandotra Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • B. R. Shrivastav Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Rajat Mangal ICMR, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Rajat Lohia Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • M. L. Agarwal Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Nancy Lal Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Sumit Gupta Department of Radiation Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Devraj Singh Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Monika Dewan Department of Gynec-Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Rajni Agrwal Department of Gynec-Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • V. Jalaj Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Nidisha Agarwal Department of Surgical Oncology, Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20263533

Keywords:

Oral cancer, Hospital-based cancer registry, Head and neck cancer, Gallbladder cancer, Cancer epidemiology

Abstract

Background: Cancer registries provide epidemiological information for regional public health planning. Central India has a unique cancer burden driven by high tobacco use and limited early-detection infrastructure, yet the hospital-based cancer registries (HBCRs) data from this region remain scarce. This study characterised the site-specific distribution, sex-based disparities, age-group variation, and state-wise referral patterns of confirmed malignant cases at Cancer Hospital and Research Institute (CHRI), Gwalior, over three years (January 2022 – December 2024), to identify priority sites for region-specific cancer control interventions.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was conducted on 25,692 Outpatient Department (OPD) records from CHRI, Gwalior, a regional cancer centre serving Madhya Pradesh (MP), Uttar Pradesh (UP), and adjacent states.  International Classification of Diseases -10 (ICD-10) was used to classify malignant cases (n = 20,062). They were analyzed by sex, cancer site, age group, state and year of registration.

Results: Among the 20,062 malignant cases, males constituted the majority (n=12,394; 61.78%) versus females (n=7,665; 38.21%). Mouth (n=5,255; 26.04%) and tongue (n=2,746; 13.69%) were the most common sites. Gallbladder cancer ranked third overall (8.11%) with marked female predominance. Breast (7.42%) and cervical (5.74%) cancers predominated among females. Patients aged ≥50 years had the largest disease burden, though oral cancers appeared as early as 19-35 years.

Conclusions: Head and neck cancers accounted for 46.59% of all malignant cases (9,347 /20,062), with the oral cavity and tongue representing the most frequently affected sites. The co-existing burdens of gallbladder, breast, and cervical cancers highlight the need for region-specific, multi-site cancer screening programmes.

References

Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Soerjomataram I, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3):229-63.

Singh K, Grover A, Dhanasekaran K. Unveiling the cancer epidemic in India: a glimpse into GLOBOCAN 2022 and past patterns. Lancet Reg Health Southeast Asia. 2025;34:100546.

Nath A, Mathur P. Strengthening cancer surveillance in India: role of the National Cancer Registry Programme. Indian J Surg Oncol. 2022;13(Suppl 1):2-7.

Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, Das P, Stephen S, Mathur P. Cancer incidence estimates for 2022 & projection for 2025: results from National Cancer Registry Programme, India. Indian J Med Res. 2023;156(4-5):598-607.

ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research. Report of the Hospital Based Cancer Registries. Bengaluru: ICMR-NCDIR; 2021. Available at: https://ncdirindia.org/All_Reports/HBCR_2021/. Accessed 01 July 2026.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ICD-10-CM tabular list of diseases and injuries 2022, 2022. Available at: https://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/health_statistics/nchs/publications/ICD10CM/2022/icd10cm-tabular-2022-April-1.pdf. Accessed 01 July 2026.

Ali MS, Chaudhary AK, Shukla P, Purwar N, Singh PK. Tobacco-driven oral cancer in India: clinicopathological correlates and prevention priorities. Cureus. 2025;17(8):e89780.

Khanna D, Shruti T, Tiwari M, Sharma P, Khan A, Ranjan S, et al. Prevalence of oral potentially malignant lesions, tobacco use, and effect of cessation strategies among solid waste management workers in Northern India: a pre-post intervention study. BMC Oral Health. 2024;24(1):1257.

Bagal S, Budukh A, Thakur JS, Dora T, Qayyumi B, Khanna D, et al. Head and neck cancer burden in India: an analysis from published data of 37 population-based cancer registries. ecancer. 2023;17:1603.

Dutta U, Bush N, Kalsi D, Popli P, Kapoor VK. Epidemiology of gallbladder cancer in India. Chin Clin Oncol. 2019;8(4):33.

Vuthaluru S, Sharma P, Chowdhury S, Are C. Gallbladder cancer: progress in the Indian subcontinent. J Surg Oncol. 2024;128(6):980-8.

Mathur P, Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, Das P, Sudarshan KL, Santhappan S, et al. ICMR-NCDIR-NCRP Investigator Group.Cancer statistics, 2020: report from National Cancer Registry Programme, India. JCO Glob Oncol. 2020;6:1063-75.

Ray JG, Bhatt AP, Patel P. Oral cancer in India. Oral Dis. 2025;31(3):611-20.

Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Global Adult Tobacco Survey: GATS 2 India 2016-17, 2018. Available at: https://main.mohfw.gov.in/sites/default/files/GATS-2%20India%202016-17%20report.pdf. Accessed 01 July 2026.

Gupta S, Kori C, Kumar V, Misra S, Akhtar N. Epidemiological study of gallbladder cancer patients from North Indian Gangetic plains a high-volume centre's experience. J Gastrointest Cancer. 2016;47(1):27-35.

Jeffrey Mathew, Boby Aju Mathew. Could microplastics be the reason for the high gallbladder cancer incidence in northern India? Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol. 2025;46(05):505-7.

Halaseh SA, Halaseh S, Shakman R. A review of the etiology and epidemiology of gallbladder cancer: what you need to know. Cureus. 2022;14(8):e28260.

Malvia S, Bagadi SA, Dubey US, Saxena S. Epidemiology of breast cancer in Indian women. Asia Pac J Clin Oncol. 2017;13(4):289-95.

Sathishkumar K, N V, Badwe RA, Deo SVS, Manoharan N, Malik R, Panse NS, et al. Trends in breast and cervical cancer in India under National Cancer Registry Programme: An Age-Period-Cohort analysis. Cancer Epidemiol. 2021;74:101982.

Dhillon PK, Yeole BB, Dikshit R, Kurkure AP, Bray F. Trends in breast, ovarian and cervical cancer incidence in Mumbai, India over a 30-year period, 1976-2005: an age-period-cohort analysis. Br J Cancer. 2011;105(5):723-30.

Rahman MM, Rahman MS, Islam MR, Gilmour S, Haruyama R, Budukh A, et al. Regional variations and inequalities in testing for early detection of breast and cervical cancer: evidence from a nationally representative survey in India. J Epidemiol. 2025;35(3):129-40.

Nandakumar A, Anantha N, Appaji L, Swamy K, Mukherjee G, Venugopal T, et al. Descriptive epidemiology of childhood cancers in Bangalore, India. Cancer Causes Control. 1996;7(4):405-10.

Gupta PC, Arora M, Sinha DN, Asma S, Parascandola M. Tobacco use and poverty in India. Indian J Med Res. 2013;137(1):72-80.

Ferlay J, Colombet M, Soerjomataram I, Parkin DM, Piñeros M, Znaor A, et al. Cancer statistics for the year 2020: an overview. Int J Cancer. 2021;149(4):778-89.

Downloads

Published

2026-09-29

How to Cite

Shrivastav, G., Rajput, G. S., Shrivastav, S., Pawar, V., Gandotra, P., Shrivastav, B. R., Mangal, R., Lohia, R., Agarwal, M. L., Lal, N., Gupta, S., Singh, D., Dewan, M., Agrwal, R., Jalaj, V., & Agarwal, N. (2026). Head and neck cancer dominance and emerging multi-site burden: a three-year hospital-based cancer registry analysis from central India (2022-2024). International Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 14(10), 4628–4633. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-6012.ijrms20263533

Issue

Section

Original Research Articles