Cancer deaths in agricultural heartland

Indian state of Punjab is increasingly under focus for the increasingly incidence of cancer mortality as well as indiscriminate use of pesticides in agricultural practices. This study investigates cancer mortality, and its correlations with numerous variables, including demographic characteristics, cropping pattern and pesticide residues in soil and water. Cancer mortality data for a period of five years (2002-06) was collected from 30 randomly selected villages in Malwa region of Punjab. 15 villages were selected from cancer prone "high risk" districts of Muktsar, Faridkot, Bathinda and Mansa, and the other 15 from "low risk" districts of Sangrur, Barnala, Moga and Firozpur. Cropping pattern was obtained and pesticide residues analysis conducted on composite soil and water samples from each village.