CHANDIGARH, March 29 -- In the absence of "population-based cancer registries" there is no clear pattern of cancer cases in Haryana where about 90,000 new cancer cases were detected from 2020 to 2022 with 49,649 mortalities, health minister Arti Singh Rao said in the assembly on Friday.

"Most of the data on number of cancer cases is based on estimated numbers worked out on the basis of cancer registries maintained by Indian Council of Medical Research, National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP)," Rao said pointing out that in the absence of population-based cancer registries, no clear pattern of cancer cases emerges in Haryana. "Further, duplication of data cannot be ruled out."

The issue of cancer came up for discussion as Indian N...