Archive · 5 Oct 2026
India Urged to Make Cancer Reporting Nationwide and Consistent
The Supreme Court has asked 19 states and Union territories to consider requiring cancer cases to be reported.
This is called making cancer a notifiable disease.
The article says that shared rules could help all parts of India count cases in the same way.
Better information could show where people need hospitals, tests, medicines and cancer specialists.
Smaller hospitals and laboratories should also be able to report cases.
The writer says the system must protect people's private health information.
At first, the number of recorded cases might go up because more cases are being counted.
That would not necessarily mean more people suddenly got cancer.
The writer believes better counting can help India plan cancer care more effectively.
The Supreme Court asked 19 states and Union territories where cancer is not notifiable to consider making it so.
The Court also asked whether central guidelines are needed to make reporting uniform.
The Indian Cancer Society says notification could help authorities understand where cancer occurs and who is affected.
The article calls for shared definitions, reporting timelines, safeguards, training and technical support.
It says a rise in recorded cases after wider reporting could reflect better detection in the data, not a sudden increase in cancer.
- Who
- The Supreme Court, 19 states and Union territories, and the Union government.
- What
- The Court asked states and Union territories where cancer is not notifiable to consider making it notifiable, and asked whether central guidelines are needed.
- When
- In a recent order; no date is specified.
- Where
- India.
- Why
- To improve cancer reporting and support more consistent planning and responses to the disease.
- States and territories asked to consider notification
- 19
- Proposed national approach
- Common definitions, a minimum dataset, reporting timelines, safeguards and compliance rules
- Potential uses of notification data
- Inform planning for hospitals, staff, diagnostics, medicines and cancer services
- Key implementation needs
- Training, technical assistance, practical reporting systems and digital infrastructure
- Privacy requirements
- Safeguards for access, privacy, cybersecurity and permitted uses of information
- Indian Cancer Society milestone
- The society completes 75 years in 2026