Oral, lung cancers show sharpest rise in Delhi, breast cancer tops list: Ministry data

Delhi reported a 5.1% rise in oral cancer and 4.9% in lung cancer cases from 2023 to 2025, with breast cancer remaining the most prevalent overall.

Cases of oral cancer recorded the sharpest year-on-year rise in Delhi in 2025, increasing by 5.1%, while reported instances of lung cancer rose by 4.9%, according to data for the period between 2023 and 2025 shared by the Union health ministry in a written reply to Parliament on Tuesday.

Oral, lung cancers show sharpest rise in Delhi, breast cancer tops list: Ministry data

The data shows that among women, lung cancer saw the highest year-on-year increase, rising 6.5% to 686 cases in 2025, up from 644 in 2024 and 604 in 2023. Among men, oral cancer recorded the steepest growth, with cases increasing 5.8% to 2,717 in 2025, compared to 2,569 in 2024 and 2,429 in 2023.

In absolute terms, breast cancer remained the most prevalent cancer in the national capital. Estimates from the National Cancer Registry Programme show that reported cases of breast cancer rose steadily from 3,198 in 2023 to 3,260 in 2024 and 3,321 in 2025. Oral cancer emerged as the second most common cancer type overall, with total cases – among both men and women – touching 3,208 in 2025.

A closer look at oral cancer figures shows a consistent rise over the three-year period. In 2024, Delhi recorded 3,051 cases of oral cancer, including 2,569 among men and 482 among women. This number stood at 2,901 in 2023, with 2,429 cases among men and 472 among women. Among women, oral cancer cases rose modestly from 472 in 2023 to 491 in 2025.

Cervical cancer, however, bucked the overall trend. Cases among women declined marginally from 741 in 2023 to 716 in 2024 and further to 692 in 2025, reflecting a year-on-year drop of about 3.4% in both years.

Among men, oral cancer showed the most pronounced increase, followed by lung cancer, which rose from 1,668 cases in 2023 to 1,814 in 2025. Prostate cancer also showed a steady upward trend, with reported cases increasing from 1,168 in 2023 to 1,301 in 2025.

The health ministry also highlighted Delhi’s relatively high Age-Adjusted Incidence Rate (AAIR) of cancer. During the 2015–2019 period, Delhi recorded an AAIR of 146.7 per one lakh population among men and 132.5 among women—higher than figures reported for cities such as Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. The AAIR standardises cancer incidence across populations with different age structures, enabling meaningful regional comparisons.

To be sure, it must be noted that Delhi also receives a substantial inflow of cancer patients from across north India and other parts of the country, driven by the presence of major tertiary care centres such as AIIMS and the Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre, which further adds to the treatment burden in the city.