Cancer is medically known as malignant neoplasm or malignant tumor. It is characterized by abnormal or uncontrolled cell division and growth, caused by pathological disruption in the process of cell proliferation (Steward & Kliehues, 2003). The cells in our body grow normally and divide in a controlled manner to maintain the normal functioning of the body. When normal cells are damaged, they die and new cells take their place. However, this process may not work properly and generate new cells even when the body does not need them, or damaged cells may not die as they should. The growth of extra cells often forms a mass of tissue called a nodule, growth, or tumor. Therefore, the tumor is the result of the process involving successive generations of cells, which progressively advance towards cancerous growth. All tumors increase in size. Some of them grow quickly and some of them grow slowly. The rate of tumor progression is regulated by both mutagenic agents (tumor initiators) and non-mutagenic agents (tumor promoters) that influence gene expression, stimulate cell proliferation, and alter the ecological balance of mutant and non-mutant cells. Tumor cells often move and break away from the site of the mass or tumor and enter the bloodstream thus spreading the disease to other parts of the body and this process is called metastasis (Steward & Kliehues, 2003). Cancer is often defined as a disease that involves changes or mutations in the cellular genome. These changes (DNA mutations) produce proteins that disrupt the delicate cellular balance between cell division and quiescence; resulting in cells that continue to divide to form tumors (Hejmadi 2010). In general, cancer can be grouped into the following categories: Carcinoma - cancer that begins in ...... middle of paper ...... based on demographic changes in populations using UN data along with rough assumptions on probable trends in the incidence rates of six cancers (Bray, Jemal, Gray, et al., 2012).5, 55,000 people died from cancer in India in 2010, according to estimates published in The Lancet today (March 28 2012) (Dikshit., et al 2012). While as in Kashmir, 8648 patients were registered at Regional Cancer Center (RCC), Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, Srinagar, from January 2009 to December 2011. Esophageal cancer was found to be the most common cancer followed by cancers of the lung, stomach, colorectal, breast, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, gastroesophageal junction, ovary, skin, gallbladder, multiple myeloma, acute lymphoid leukemia, urinary bladder, prostate, and Hodgkin's lymphoma (Rasool , Lone, Wani, Afroz , Zaffar, Mohib-ul Haq 2012).