Cancer patient
Scientists, for the first time, have identified certain genetic factors that help predict the risk of a childhood cancer, early before birth.Reuters

The highest number of childhood cancer cases (in the age group of 0-14 years) in India were found in New Delhi, according to the latest data released by the Indian government.

The National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) data released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which took into account the population-based cancer registries from 2012-2014, showed that there were 860 reported cases of childhood cancers in the national capital in 2012, accounting for 4.4 percent of all the cancers reported there.

New Delhi was followed by Mumbai and Chennai, which reported 245 and 240 cases of childhood cancers, respectively, in 2012.

The data also showed the age-adjusted incidence of rates (AAR) for childhood cancers, which is the number of cases of cancer per million children. Among boys, the AAR was found to be 235.3 followed by Chennai that had the AAR of 156.7. For girls, Delhi had the highest AAR at 152.3.

The East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya, and Nagaland, which otherwise had the highest incidence of cancer cases among all age groups, reported the least number of childhood cancer cases. 

The two major forms of childhood cancers, according to NCRP, reported in India were leukaemias (bone marrow cancers) and lymphomas (cancer of the lymph nodes).

North-East India reported the maximum number of cancer cases across all age groups, with the Aizawl district of Mizoram having the highest number of such cases among men and Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh registering the largest number of cancer cases among women. The East Khasi Hills district in Meghalaya reported the highest number of tobacco-related cancers for both men and women in the country.