India, Aug. 18 -- Cancer is often associated with older age, but a diagnosis in the 30s or early 40s is no longer something doctors can simply dismiss as unusual. India's cancer data does show a significant burden among younger adults. However, experts caution against interpreting every cancer diagnosis in a younger adult as proof of a broad "cancer epidemic" among the young. Better detection, greater awareness and access to imaging are also bringing more cases to medical attention.

HT Lifestyle spoke to Dr Ankur Nandan Varshney - a senior medical oncologist at Medanta Hospital, Noida - who explains, "We should be careful about calling every cancer in a younger person a new trend. What we are seeing is a combination of genuine changes in...