Hyderabad :

In a significant move that could open doors to effective cancer control strategies, the city is all set to have its own population-based cancer registry by the end of this year, which will help authorities find out more about the lifestyle disease.

While oncologists say that cancer of the head and neck, stomach, cervical and breasts are the most common, there is no centralized data available for evaluation by researchers. Andhra Pradesh  accounts for an estimated 1.2 lakh new cancer cases out of 12 lakh cases every year in India.

So far, all metros including Delhi and Mumbai, and even Thiruvananthapuram and almost all northeastern states have population-based cancer registries. “The cancer registry of Greater Hyderabad will be one of the biggest area-wise as it will cover adjacent municipalities as well unlike other registries,” said Dr D Raghunadha Rao, professor of medical oncology, Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences  (Nims). Dr Rao said that Nims will maintain the population-based cancer registry for Greater Hyderabad.

The decision follows the Indian Council of Medical Research’s nod to start a population-based cancer registry. Authorities plan to start operations after funds are released. “It is a Government of India project and will begin this year,” Dr Rao maintained.

As per the proposed estimates, the teaching hospital will require Rs 30-35 lakh annually to maintain the registry of demographic information, medical history, diagnostic findings, cancer therapy and follow-up details of cancer patients from Hyderabad. The data will be used to evaluate quality of life, calculate survival rates, analyze referral pattern, and evaluate efficacy of treatment modalities.

Experts said that knowing patterns of cancer across the country would provide important leads in undertaking research to know the cause of the disease, in targeting cancer control measures and in examining clinical outcomes.

Currently, there are 27 population-based cancer registries in India. While all metros are covered except Hyderabad, other registries are in Bhopal, Thiruvananthapuram and in almost all northerneastern states among others.

The cancer incidence in Hyderabad is so far not known and experts said that this is where the registry’s role comes into play. The registries in other metros have revealed some interesting details in the recent past such as the drop in cervical cancer  incidence in urban areas in Mumbai, Chennai as well as Thiruvananthapuram. Also, Bangalore-based National Cancer Registry found that 90% of the cancer hospitals do not follow up on patients.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / by Bushra Baseerat, TNN / February 18th, 2013