The Status of Indian Cancer Record Keeping and Study of Mesothelioma Cases to Ascertain Asbestos Exposure in India.

Abstract

Setting: Asbestos exposure causes mesothelioma which is classified as a malignancy and recorded by cancer registries which currently covers only16% of the population in India. The accurate number of mesothelioma cases may not be available for decision making as India still uses asbestos and it is important to ascertain its health impact, especially mesothelioma. Objective: This study aims to find the cases of mesothelioma from 83 hospitals across India from 2012 onwards till 2022-2023. The study also compares the national registry reported cases to the ones found in this study. Design: The study uses the Right to Information Act 2005 to find data from various hospitals and reporting the same. The data from the voluntary national registry was also collected. This was compiled and compared. Results: Overall, the study shows 2213 cases of mesothelioma 2012 onwards in India from 83 hospitals. In the comparison period of 2012-2016, the registry reported cases were 54, while the study shows 1126 cases. Only 21% of hospitals in this study were part of the national registry programme. Conclusion: Mesothelioma cases in India are more frequent than reported and the current recordkeeping for all cancers does not fully cover the expanse of India and needs to be revamped.