Telangana Declares Cancer a Notifiable Disease to Fix Health Data Gaps

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**Telangana** has officially made **cancer** a notifiable disease across the state. This decision requires all government and private hospitals to upload every diagnosed cancer case to a designated state portal within **1 month**.
This step helps the government map cancer patterns across the state. By tracking new cases, deaths, and regional distributions, authorities can design better public health strategies.
Medical experts at **MNJ Cancer Hospital** will verify the collected data. After verification, these records will enter the **National Cancer Registry Programme** run by the **ICMR**.

A **notifiable disease** is any illness that doctors and hospitals must report to government officers by law. Mandatory reporting helps officials detect health crises early and take fast control measures.
The **Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897** gives state governments the legal right to declare any illness as a notified disease within their own borders.
State governments routinely notify infectious diseases like **Tuberculosis**, **Dengue**, **Malaria**, **Cholera**, **Hepatitis**, **Measles**, and **Polio**. During the healthcare emergency, states also declared **Covid-19** a mandatory reportable disease.

Currently, India lacks a central law making cancer a notifiable disease across all states. The **Ministry of Health and Family Welfare** usually limits mandatory reporting to infectious diseases that spread rapidly.
National statistics depend on **Population-Based Cancer Registries (PBCR)** and **Hospital-Based Cancer Registries (HBCR)**. However, these tools sample only **10% to 16%** of the country, missing rural areas and private clinics.
To solve this missing data problem, **17** states have created their own rules to notify cancer cases, with **Telangana** becoming the latest state to join this group.
Data from the **Global Cancer Observatory** under the **WHO** reveals alarming projections. India's annual cancer cases could jump by **74%**, rising from **1.41 million in 2022** to **2.46 million by 2045** due to longer lifespans and changing habits.
Prominent bodies like the **ICMR** and the **National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research** want nationwide mandatory reporting. They argue this is the only way to track private hospital patients accurately.
Making cancer reportable will initially increase official case numbers sharply. However, having real numbers helps the government build specialized hospitals, launch insurance coverage, and run awareness campaigns where needed most.