A cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. According to experts, the disease is largely preventable, treatable and curable, sometimes even in the case of a late diagnosis.
On Friday, eminent oncologists from across the world sought to quell fears and create awareness about tackling cancer at the second Apollo International Cancer Conclave.
Latest advances in treatments and devices, which not only sharpen the efficacy of the therapy but also help reduce costs, especially diagnostic costs, were showcased at the conclave.
India is seeing an estimated 10 lakh cancer cases every year.
“In India, the prevalence rate is between 90 and 100 in every one lakh in cities and between 40 and 50 in the rural areas. This is distinctly lower than in the US, where the rate is 350 for one lakh in the urban areas and 120 in the non-urban areas,” RA Badwe, Director of the Tata Memorial Hospital, told BusinessLine on the sidelines of the event.
The reason for higher urban incidence is attributed to current lifestyles. “Obesity is especially linked to the higher prevalence of some cancers, such as breast cancer, in the cities,” he pointed out.
One positive about the prevalence of cancer in India is that it has been more or less constant in the last 15 years; while some cancers like those of the colon show a rise, others like stomach cancer have declined.
The experts also discussed newer treatment methods being tried out in some pockets of the world. For instance, protons are being used instead of X-rays for treating many cancers, as there is less collateral damage.
The Apollo Hospital Group has taken the lead and will likely have a proton machine by 2018. “So far, about 10,000 patients round the world have taken the proton route. It is costly however; a proton machine costs about $200 million, while an X-ray unit is priced at just $5 million,” says T Prabhakar, chief medical officer at the US-based ViewRay.
High-end deviceAnother new device just being tried out is the MRI-guided radiation therapy, which helps doctors track the movement of the cancer even during therapy.
“So far, doctors could not track cancer images during therapy.
“But with these machines, there is continuous imaging; if the cancer moves half a centimetre due to the patient’s breathing, the radiation direction will also change to attack the cancer,” Prabhakar said.
ViewRay has supplied three of these new-generation machines in the US, with 13 more on order from other parts of the world, including Dubai, Europe and Korea.
Vijay Anand Reddy, Director of Apollo Cancer Hospitals, said these new treatment methods not only increased efficacy with lesser collateral damage, but also helped in bringing down the overall treatment cost.