By Dr. Umer Majeed Khaja

I have spent years studying cancer in Kashmir through hospital records, laboratory work, and patient data. 

What I see every day confirms what research has warned for a long time. 

Cancer has spread across the valley, reshaping families, straining communities, and pushing the healthcare system to its limits.

Official data presented in Parliament indicate that Jammu and Kashmir recorded approximately 14,112 new cancer cases in 2024, while the cumulative burden between 2015 and 2024 reached nearly 1.45 lakh cases. 

These statistics translate to more than 12,000 new diagnoses every year, or roughly 30 to 40 people learning they have cancer each day. 

Hospitals and regional cancer registries confirm these trends, leaving no room to treat this issue as anecdotal or exaggerated.

Cancer in Kashmir shows clear patterns shaped by geography, diet, occupational exposure, and lifestyle. 

Among men, stomach cancer emerges most frequently, followed by lung and oesophageal cancers. 

Breast cancer dominates among women and increasingly affects younger populations, diverging from traditional patterns seen in previous decades. 

Most diagnoses occur in individuals above 45 years of age, with a significant burden among those over 64, but the rising occurrence of colorectal and breast cancers in younger patients signals changes in biological and environmental factors. 

Districts including Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla, Budgam, and Pulwama account for a large proportion of these cases, reflecting persistent trends across the valley.

Rapid lifestyle transitions have amplified cancer risk. 

Urbanisation, reduced physical activity, and dietary changes contribute to higher rates of obesity, central adiposity, and metabolic syndrome. The traditional Kashmiri diet, previously dominated by home-cooked and plant-forward meals, now increasingly features high-calorie, high-fat processed foods, sweetened beverages, and frequent consumption of red and processed meats. 

These changes trigger chronic inflammation, oxidative stress, and insulin resistance, creating an environment conducive to multiple cancers, including colorectal, post-menopausal breast, endometrial, pancreatic, and liver cancers. 

Tobacco use compounds this risk, particularly among men. 

Cigarettes, hookah, and other forms of tobacco strongly associate with cancers of the lung, bladder, upper aerodigestive tract, and gastrointestinal system, and they interact with poor diet and air pollution to elevate risk further.

Environmental and occupational exposures represent an additional layer of concern. 

Pesticide and fungicide use in horticulture, particularly in apple-growing districts, has increased over the past two decades. Orchard workers face chronic exposure to organophosphates and carbamates, which can damage DNA, disrupt hormones, and produce oxidative stress. 

Residues persist on fruits, in soil, and in water, and when combined with air pollution from traffic, biomass burning, and localized industrial emissions, these exposures likely contribute to rising lung and upper gastrointestinal cancers.

Stomach cancer continues to dominate male diagnoses, drawing scientific attention due to dietary and environmental contributors. 

High consumption of salted, dried, pickled, and smoked foods generates carcinogenic compounds in the stomach, while pesticide residues, heavy metals, and prevalent Helicobacter pylori infections create sustained inflammatory environments that accelerate malignancy. 

Infection, genetic predisposition, and hormonal factors shape cancer patterns further, particularly for breast and infection-associated cancers, which remain significant due to limited vaccination, delayed treatment, and low screening coverage. 

Changes in childbirth, pregnancy, and breastfeeding, alongside obesity and metabolic shifts, are increasing breast cancer risk, with family patterns suggesting genetic vulnerability.

A critical concern lies in late-stage diagnosis. 

Many patients reach hospitals with stage III or IV cancers because awareness remains low, stigma continues, and specialised oncology care often lies far from home. 

Cancers that could be treated successfully when found early become far more dangerous when diagnosis comes too late. 

I see hospitals expanding diagnostics and cancer registries, but patients still face delays because outreach, awareness, and local facilities remain insufficient.

If we act with evidence, awareness, and coordination, we can change the course of cancer in the valley before it defines the future.

•  The author is a research scientist and cancer biologist at SKIMS, Srinagar. He can be reached at [email protected].