Hospital-based study on the prevalence of cancers in Garo Hills, Meghalaya, India

Background: Garo Hills region of the State of Meghalaya is inhabited by mainly Garos. The details on the occurrence of different cancers from this region has not been reported. Aims & Objectives The study was undertaken to provide a general scenario on the prevalence and epidemiology of cancers in Garo Hills. Material & Methods: Total 1610 registered cases in the selected hospitals were studied. Detail information such as the age, sex, occupation, lifestyle and the type of cancer of the patients were collected from the hospital records. Results: The findings reveal that the age group between 41-50 years mostly developed different cancers. The highest incidence of cancer in the people was throat cancer followed by oesophageal cancer. Among females, breast is the leading site of cancer whereas in the males the leading site was found to be the throat. Conclusion: The prevalence of throat and oesophageal cancers in the people of Garo hills could be correlated with the common consumption of tobacco and raw betel quid (locally called gue) by young to adult and it is socially acceptable. It is suggested that effective measures should be taken to increase the awareness and cancer registry should be initiated in the region