Global Cancer Summit In City

OMICs Group, in collaboration with Bio Genesis, Federation of Asian Biotech Association (FABA) and Kenes Exhibitions, is organising a Global Cancer Summit on "Recent Advances In Cancer Diagnosis And Therapy", on September 16-18, 2014.

The conference, to be held at HICC, will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee. Nobel laureate for Physiology/Medicine (1997) Dr. Andrew V Schally, and Dr. Dattatreyudu, executive vice-chairman of the Radiation Oncology Department at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, will be the guests of honour.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, BioGenesis Euro Indian Health Cluster's scientific advisor Dr. V P Rao said that the conference aims to make an assessment of the economic burden of cancer, including direct expenditure on detection and treatment, and morbidity costs with productivity losses for employers, patients and their families.

He said that continued advancements in cancer therapies are allowing specialists to tailor treatments for each individual patient, in order to achieve cost-effective results, fewer side effects, and better outcomes overall.

According to the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), as many as 2.8 million new cancer cases are registered every year, globally linked to diet, lifestyles and body weight. The UN World Cancer Research Fund also issued a warning that world cancer figures rose by a fifth in less than 10 years, which is 4 times greater that new HIV cases registered.

In India, nearly 10 lakh new cancer patients are diagnosed every year, while over 6.33 lakh cancer deaths are diagnosed every year, including 17,600 in Andhra Pradesh alone.

There are 27 cancer centres, 118 government hospitals and 163 private hospitals treating cancer patients across the country.

There are nearly 1,500 qualified oncologists and 502 qualified psychologists, while 38 foundations, including NGOs, work for cancer. Plus, the country has nearly 300 radiotherapy machines in working condition. (INN)