Assam News

Here’s all you need to know about Research and New Methods of Cancer Treatment

Sentinel Digital Desk

Guwahati: As per National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) of Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the estimated number of incidence of cancer cases reported in the country during the three years is given below:

Year201620172018
Estimated Incidence of cancer cases14,51,41715,17,42615,86,571

Health is a state subject and the Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments in preventing and controlling cancer. The objectives of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), being implemented by Central Government under National Health Mission (NHM) for interventions upto the district level, includes awareness generation for cancer prevention, screening, early detection and referral to an appropriate level institution for treatment. For cancer, the focus is on three cancers, namely breast, cervical and oral. A population-level initiative for prevention, control and screening for common Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) i.e. diabetes, hypertension and common cancers viz. oral, breast and cervical cancer, has been rolled out in over 215 districts of the country, as a part of comprehensive primary healthcare. Screening of common NCDs including three common cancers i.e. oral, breast and cervical is also an integral part of service delivery under Ayushman Bharat - Health and Wellness Centres. Cancer is diagnosed and treated at various levels in the health care system. In Government hospitals, treatment is either free or highly subsidized. Treatment of cancers is also available under Ayushman Bharat - PradhanMantri Jan ArogyaYojana (PMJAY). Besides this, Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) Deendayal outlets have been opened at 203 Institutions/Hospitals with an objective to make available drugs and implants at discounted prices to the patients. Under the umbrella scheme of RashtriyaArogyaNidhi, financial assistance is provided to families living below the threshold poverty line for their treatment, including treatment of cancer, in Government hospitals.

Scientific Institutions/Departments such as Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology and Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) support research in various filed including treatment of cancer. Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Kerala, has developed a technology to make Curcumin, an active ingredient in Turmeric with anti-cancer properties, water-soluble by binding it with human albumin. This research was supported by ICMR. More studies are however needed to get the regulatory nod.

To enhance the facilities for tertiary care of cancer, the Central Government is implementing Strengthening of Tertiary Care for Cancer Scheme, under which setting up of 19 State Cancer Institutes (SCI) and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC) have been approved. The list of such approved SCIs and TCCCs in the country including in the State of Kerala is given below:

State/UT-wise list of approved state Cancer Institutes (SCI) and Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCCs)

S NoStateName of the InstituteSCI/

TCCC

1Andhra PradeshKurnool Medical College, KurnoolSCI
2AssamGauhati Medical College & Hospital, GuwahatiSCI
3BiharIndira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, PatnaSCI
4ChhattisgarhChhattisgarh Institute of Medical Sciences, BilaspurSCI
5DelhiLok Nayak HospitalTCCC
6GujaratGujarat Cancer Research Institute, AhmedabadSCI
7GoaGoa Medical College, PanajiTCCC
8HaryanaCivil Hospital, Ambala CanttTCCC
9Himachal PradeshIndira Gandhi Medical College, ShimlaTCCC
10ShriLalBahadurShastri Medical College, MandiTCCC
11Jammu & KashmirSher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, SrinagarSCI
12Government Medical College, JammuSCI
13JharkhandRajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, RanchiSCI
14KarnatakaKidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (RCC), BangaluruSCI
15Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences, MandyaTCCC
16KeralaRegional Cancer Centre, TjiruvananthapuramSCI
17Government Medical College, KozhikodeTCCC
18Madhya PradeshG.R. Medical College, GwaliorTCCC
19NetajiSubhas Chandra Bose Medical College, JabalpurSCI
20MaharashtraRashtrasantTukdoji Regional Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, NagpurTCCC
21Government Medical College, AurangabadSCI
22Vivekanand Foundation & Research Centre, LaturTCCC
23MizoramMizoram State Cancer Institute, AizawlTCCC
24NagalandDistrict Hospital, KohimaTCCC
25OdishaAcharyaHarihar Regional Cancer Centre, CuttackSCI
26PunjabGovernment Medical College, AmritsarSCI
27Civil Hospital, FazilkaTCCC
28RajasthanS P Medical College, BikanerTCCC
29SMS Medical College, JaipurSCI
30Jhalawar Medical College & Hospital, JhalawarTCCC
31SikkimMultispecialty Hospital at Sochygang (Sichey), near Gangtok, SikkimTCCC
32Tamil NaduCancer Institute (RCC), Adyar, ChennaiSCI
33TelanganaMNJ Institute of Oncology & RCC, HyderabadSCI
34TripuraCancer Hospital (RCC), AgartalaSCI
35Uttar PradeshSanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, LucknowTCCC
36UttarakhandGovernment Medical College, HaldwaniSCI
37West BengalGovernment Medical College, BurdwanTCCC
38Murshidabad Medical College & Hospital, Berhampore, MurshidabadTCCC
39SagoreDutta Memorial Medical College and Hospital, KolkataTCCC

In addition, Tata Memorial Centre, a grant-in-aid institution under the Department of Atomic Energy has informed that following new cancer hospitals have been approved in the last three years:

(i) MahamanaPanditMadanmohanMalviya Cancer Centre and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

(ii) Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

(iii) Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Mullanpur, Punjab

(iv) Dr B. Borooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, Assam

(v) Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Muzzafarpur, Bihar.

Further, Oncology is also one of the focus areas in case of new AIIMS and many upgraded institutions under PradhanMantriSwasthyaSurakshaYojana (PMSSY). Setting up of National Cancer Institute at Jhajjar in Haryana and strengthening of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata, are also steps in the same direction.

The Minister of State (Health and Family Welfare), Ashwini Kumar Choubey stated this in a written reply in the Lok Sabha here today.