SC asks states, UTs to declare cancer as notifiable disease for early detection

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked states and union territories to consider issuing notification declaring cancer as a “notifiable disease” observing that a uniform policy is the need of the hour to ensure the burgeoning cancer cases can be effectively remedied

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked states and union territories to consider issuing notification declaring cancer as a “notifiable disease” observing that a uniform policy is the need of the hour to ensure the burgeoning cancer cases can be effectively remedied.

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The order came in a public interest litigation filed by one Anurag Srivastava, an academic surgeon and researcher who retired from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences at Delhi.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “So far, 17 states and union territories have so far notified cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’ in the light of recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.”

Since health is a state subject under the Constitution, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said, “We consequently direct the remaining states and UTs to take a decision in the light of recommendations made by the said committee and file a compliance report.”

He stated that the Centre has maintained a consistent position that mandatory notification is neither required nor feasible for non-communicable diseases (NCD). The Centre filed a response to the petition in May this year claiming that declaring cancer as a “notifiable disease” would “trigger unsustainable ex-gratia compensation liabilities.”

The bench observed, “There are strong recommendations made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee (in October 2022) that cancer be made a notifiable disease across India to ensure accurate data, enable screening, and strengthen follow-up care. There is no reason to say that it cannot be notified, particularly when there are so many cases of cancer in the country.”

The petition filed last year stated that the 17 states/UTs which have cancer as a ‘notifiable disease’ include West Bengal, Tripura, Punjab, Assam, Mizoram, Haryana, Karnataka, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Manipur, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim. Rajasthan, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh. In April this year, Telangana joined the bandwagon by issuing the appropriate notification,

Srivastava flagged that cancer poses a significant public health crisis accounting for nearly 8-9% of deaths annually. He stated that India’s cancer burden is projected to rise from nearly one one million new cases in 2012 to over 1.5 million by 2035, with annual cancer-related deaths expected to increase to nearly 1.2 million within the same period.

In India, cancers of the breast, uterine cervix, and oral cavity constitute nearly 34% of all cancers, making them a public health priority, the petition states. However, studies conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) reveal that the actual incidence of cancer is likely to be significantly higher than the reported cases owing to chronic under reporting and the absence of a statutory framework for mandatory notification of cancer cases.

He pointed out that due to absence of mandatory notification of cancer in most states, particularly the big states such as Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra among others, results in delayed diagnosis and inadequate allocation of resources for prevention, screening, and treatment. As a result, large segments of the population remain outside the reach of early detection and timely intervention, undermining national efforts to control the growing cancer burden, the petition said.