A Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study on Clinical Epidemiology of Different Types of Cancer in a Tertiary Care Centre: Insights From Eastern India

TL;DR

This study analyzed cancer types and demographics in Eastern India, finding gastrointestinal and breast cancers to be most common, with notable gender and regional differences.

Contribution

The study provides region-specific insights into cancer epidemiology in Eastern India, emphasizing gender and age distribution patterns.

Findings

Gastrointestinal tract cancer and breast cancer were the most common types, with 31.3% and 19.8% prevalence, respectively.

Females constituted 58.9% of all cancer patients, with breast cancer predominantly affecting them.

North Chotanagpur had the highest cancer prevalence at 40.5% among the studied regions.

Abstract

Background and aim

Cancer poses a significant burden in India, with a considerable number of people living with the disease and a substantial increase in new cases every year. Hence, considering the unique challenges faced by developing nations regarding the disease burden, this study has been designed. The aim of this work was to carry out a descriptive retrospective cross-sectional study on various types of cancer conducted in a tertiary care centre in India.

Methods

One thousand cancer patients who attended the outpatient department (OPD) from tertiary care cancer hospitals from July 2019 to December 2023 in Eastern India were enrolled. Patients included were of either gender, with their demographic details and the disease duration, who visited the OPD of hospitals meeting the eligibility criteria. Exclusion criteria were terminally ill cancer patients and patients who did not visit the outpatient department of the studied site. Descriptive analysis and chi-square test were carried out using the SPSS statistical software, version 20.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY) for data analysis. Ethics committee approval was taken.

Results

Gastrointestinal tract cancer (31.3%, n=313) and breast cancer (19.8%, n=198) were found to be the most common types of cancer among all. Out of the total patients studied, 41.1% were males and 58.9% were females. Among regions, North Chotanagpur had the highest (40.5%) prevalence, followed by South Chotanagpur (26.0%). The majority of individuals belonged to 41 to 60 years (49.0%, n=490), followed by 21-40 years (28.9%, n=289). Gastrointestinal cancer was more prevalent among males (35.5%, n=146), while breast cancer was predominant among females (31.4%, n=185).

Conclusion

Cancer is more prevalent among rural females (58.9%), providing valuable insights into the prevalence of various cancers and highlighting differences between regions, age groups, and genders.

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