Cancer is rapidly emerging as a major disease afflicting a large number of people in India. At the present rate of incidence, about 1 million new cases of cancer develop in the country every year. It is expected that this incidence would increase by about 4 to 5 times in the next 20 - 25 years. Life time risk for developing cancer varies from 1 in 15 to about 1 in 25 individuals in the country. In UK, this risk is 1 in 8 while in USA this is 1 in every 7 individuals. It is feared that with changing demographic composition and changing life styles, this risk ratio in India is also likely to increase and get nearer to that already seen in the developed countries today.