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Time of India
25-07-2025
- Health
- Time of India
ICMR recommends interventions to meet gap in machines needed for cancer care
New Delhi: A recent ICMR study has highlighted a substantial shortfall in radiotherapy utilisation across all cancer types and underscored the need for interventions to meet the gap in machines required for equitable cancer care . Published in the BMC Cancer journal, the study stated that 28.5 per cent of cancer patients receive radiotherapy, which is lower than the estimated optimal rate of 58.4 per cent. Breast, head and neck, lung and cervical cancer account for 60 per cent of India's radiotherapy needs, it said. Data from the Australian Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CCORE) were used by the researchers of ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru, for conducting the study. Epidemiological data on stage, subsite and histology from the National Cancer Registry Programme were used to assess the optimal utilisation proportion for India. A sensitivity analysis was carried out. Similarly, the optimal radiotherapy fraction has also been calculated. These measures have been used to estimate the existing radiotherapy utilisation gap by comparing with the current radiotherapy utilisation from the cancer registry as well as to estimate the optimal radiotherapy machines required for the country. "This study provides a comprehensive assessment of radiotherapy demand and existing gaps in radiotherapy utilisation and in the number of machines in India based on an epidemiological analysis of the cancer burden from the National Cancer Registry Programme. Our analysis shows that approximately 58 per cent of all cancer cases in India should ideally receive radiotherapy based on clinical indications. "However, the current radiotherapy utilisation in India is only 28.5 per cent, which is less than half of the required level," the researchers said. The study also recommended that India would require 1,585 to 2,545 machines, which may increase to a range of 2,016 to 2,291 external beam radiotherapy machines if the assumptions from previous benchmark studies are followed. The burden of four cancer sites -- breast, head and neck, lung and cervical cancer -- constitutes around 60 per cent of the total radiotherapy requirement for cancer care in India, the study said. This points towards an increasing demand for radiotherapy in the coming years as there is expected to be a 70-100 per cent increase in breast, head and neck and lung cancer in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Radiotherapy utilisation of most cancer sites is lower compared to optimal radiotherapy utilisation. Among the major indicated cancer sites, the deficit is more prominent in lymphoma and lung cancer (relative deficit of more than 70 per cent), followed by prostate, breast and oesophagus, it said. The study mentioned that India accounts for 7 per cent of global cancer incidence, ranking third after China and the USA. By the end of 2025, the incidence of cancer in India is projected to reach 1.57 million cases, posing a significant public health challenge. As the fifth leading cause of death in the country, cancer demands urgent attention to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, it said. Radiotherapy, a cornerstone of cancer treatment, plays a crucial role in controlling tumour growth, reducing tumour size pre-surgery, and alleviating pain in advanced stages. However, its availability in low and middle-income countries like India remains insufficient due to high setup and operational costs, creating a significant gap between demand and resources. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of one radiotherapy machine (external radiotherapy machine) per million population, with an optimal target of four per million, the study stated. For India's projected population of 1.45 billion in 2025, this translates to a need for a minimum of 1,450 machines. Yet, only 794 megavoltage (MV) machines are currently available. The shortfall is about 45 per cent from the minimal required standard, the study said. The study highlighted that in India, greater investment is needed to expand radiotherapy facilities to meet the growing demands of cancer patients. "Aside from increasing the number of equipment, addressing the inequitable distribution of radiotherapy services is also crucial. To align with the country's cancer burden and ongoing cancer control efforts, India must meet evidence-based targets for radiotherapy machine availability. "As a part of this, India is also ramping up efforts to develop and deploy affordable indigenous radiotherapy machines to improve access and reduce dependence on costly imports," the study stated. Furthermore, a detailed situational study of radiation equipment deployment with its features and complexity, utilisation and throughput is required for informed planning and policymaking. Cancer screening and early detection programmes can facilitate the diagnosis of cancers at earlier stages. This could reduce the required quantum of radiotherapy shortly and thus, improve the overall survival of patients, the study said. The cancer registry data informs the policy-makers to identify gaps in radiotherapy access, assess resource needs and guide decisions to ensure equitable and effective cancer care delivery.
News18
24-07-2025
- Health
- News18
ICMR recommends interventions to meet gap in machines needed for cancer care
New Delhi, Jul 24 (PTI) A recent ICMR study has highlighted a substantial shortfall in radiotherapy utilisation across all cancer types and underscored the need for interventions to meet the gap in machines required for equitable cancer care. Published in the BMC Cancer journal, the study stated that 28.5 per cent of cancer patients receive radiotherapy, which is lower than the estimated optimal rate of 58.4 per cent. Breast, head and neck, lung and cervical cancer account for 60 per cent of India's radiotherapy needs, it said. Data from the Australian Collaboration for Cancer Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CCORE) were used by the researchers of ICMR-National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research, Bengaluru, for conducting the study. Epidemiological data on stage, subsite and histology from the National Cancer Registry Programme were used to assess the optimal utilisation proportion for India. A sensitivity analysis was carried out. Similarly, the optimal radiotherapy fraction has also been calculated. These measures have been used to estimate the existing radiotherapy utilisation gap by comparing with the current radiotherapy utilisation from the cancer registry as well as to estimate the optimal radiotherapy machines required for the country. 'This study provides a comprehensive assessment of radiotherapy demand and existing gaps in radiotherapy utilisation and in the number of machines in India based on an epidemiological analysis of the cancer burden from the National Cancer Registry Programme. Our analysis shows that approximately 58 per cent of all cancer cases in India should ideally receive radiotherapy based on clinical indications. 'However, the current radiotherapy utilisation in India is only 28.5 per cent, which is less than half of the required level," the researchers said. The study also recommended that India would require 1,585 to 2,545 machines, which may increase to a range of 2,016 to 2,291 external beam radiotherapy machines if the assumptions from previous benchmark studies are followed. The burden of four cancer sites — breast, head and neck, lung and cervical cancer — constitutes around 60 per cent of the total radiotherapy requirement for cancer care in India, the study said. This points towards an increasing demand for radiotherapy in the coming years as there is expected to be a 70-100 per cent increase in breast, head and neck and lung cancer in low and middle income countries (LMIC). Radiotherapy utilisation of most cancer sites is lower compared to optimal radiotherapy utilisation. Among the major indicated cancer sites, the deficit is more prominent in lymphoma and lung cancer (relative deficit of more than 70 per cent), followed by prostate, breast and oesophagus, it said. The study mentioned that India accounts for 7 per cent of global cancer incidence, ranking third after China and the USA. By the end of 2025, the incidence of cancer in India is projected to reach 1.57 million cases, posing a significant public health challenge. As the fifth leading cause of death in the country, cancer demands urgent attention to improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment, it said. Radiotherapy, a cornerstone of cancer treatment, plays a crucial role in controlling tumour growth, reducing tumour size pre-surgery, and alleviating pain in advanced stages. However, its availability in low and middle-income countries like India remains insufficient due to high setup and operational costs, creating a significant gap between demand and resources. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a minimum of one radiotherapy machine (external radiotherapy machine) per million population, with an optimal target of four per million, the study stated. For India's projected population of 1.45 billion in 2025, this translates to a need for a minimum of 1,450 machines. Yet, only 794 megavoltage (MV) machines are currently available. The shortfall is about 45 per cent from the minimal required standard, the study said. The study highlighted that in India, greater investment is needed to expand radiotherapy facilities to meet the growing demands of cancer patients. 'Aside from increasing the number of equipment, addressing the inequitable distribution of radiotherapy services is also crucial. To align with the country's cancer burden and ongoing cancer control efforts, India must meet evidence-based targets for radiotherapy machine availability. 'As a part of this, India is also ramping up efforts to develop and deploy affordable indigenous radiotherapy machines to improve access and reduce dependence on costly imports," the study stated. top videos View all Furthermore, a detailed situational study of radiation equipment deployment with its features and complexity, utilisation and throughput is required for informed planning and policymaking. Cancer screening and early detection programmes can facilitate the diagnosis of cancers at earlier stages. This could reduce the required quantum of radiotherapy shortly and thus, improve the overall survival of patients, the study said. The cancer registry data informs the policy-makers to identify gaps in radiotherapy access, assess resource needs and guide decisions to ensure equitable and effective cancer care delivery. PTI PLB KSS KSS view comments First Published: July 24, 2025, 18:15 IST News agency-feeds ICMR recommends interventions to meet gap in machines needed for cancer care Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
The Most Common Kind of Cancer Patient in America Is the One We Study the Least
Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Former President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer that has spread to his bones, his office said in a statement on Sunday. The diagnosis occurred last week, following a urinary screening that revealed a small nodule in his prostate, which revealed the aggressive Stage 4 prostate cancer, according to the statement. The office added, 'The cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.' Biden released his first statement regarding his diagnosis on Monday. 'Cancer touches us all,' the 82-year-old wrote on X. 'Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.' Biden's cancer diagnosis is equal parts tragic and ironic. It's tragic because a cancer diagnosis is always tragic. It means long treatments that can be painful and debilitating, lots of waiting and worrying, and the very real possibility that you might not survive, even under the best circumstances. The former president will have access to excellent care without fear of medical debt—something not every American can say. But that guarantees very little. On top of that, in 2015 Biden's older son, Beau Biden, died at 46, after being diagnosed with one of the most aggressive types of brain cancer. Biden's experience in supporting and eventually losing his son greatly influenced his decision to spearhead the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot, a research initiative that aims to cut cancer death rates in half by 2047. The project was initially launched in 2016 under the Obama administration and later reignited in 2022, under then-President Biden. It received $1.8 billion in funding through the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act to support more than 250 research projects and 70 programs with the goal of supporting patients and their families and ultimately ending cancer for good. But therein lies the irony: The vast majority of cancer trials exclude older patients like Joe Biden, despite the fact that most patients who get cancer are over the age of 65. Although the Food and Drug Administration released guidance around the reignition of the Cancer Moonshot to help the issue, it remains a systemic problem. Cancer can affect anyone, but it disproportionately comes for older people. Roughly 60 percent of all cancer diagnoses and about 70 percent of cancer deaths occur in patients 65 or older. Yet a 2024 study published in the journal BMC Cancer examined 7,747 clinical trials on cancer and found that only 25 percent of cancer trial participants are over 65 years old. A 2019 study in JAMA Oncology found that in clinical trials the median age of participants with common cancers such as breast, prostate, and lung cancer was nearly six and a half years younger than the median age of people actually diagnosed with the disease. Even though prostate cancer trial participants skewed slightly older due to the cancer type, participants were still three and a half years younger than the average prostate cancer patient. There are several factors at play here. For one, a lot of clinical trials have strict criteria to determine who exactly gets to participate in cancer studies. Supriya Mohile is a geriatric oncologist with the University of Rochester Medical Center whose research sheds light on the underrepresentation of older adults in cancer trials. She tells Slate that although studies have gotten better about not restricting on the basis of chronological age, older adults are still underrepresented due to eligibility criteria that favor fitter patients. 'We don't do a good job assessing fitness for older patients with cancer,' Mohile said. 'Sometimes we see older people in the clinic, and one doctor might say, 'Oh, you're 80. You're too old for this clinical trial,' even when they're pretty fit and they don't have a lot of other things going on.' She puts it another way: Clinicians often rely on an 'eyeball test' to assess patients—but that type of appraisal is subjective, imperfect, and likely to vary from clinician to clinician. She highlights the need for more objective measures when determining someone's eligibility for clinical trials like the Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment, which is a tool to evaluate function, psychological status, cognition, and physical strength in older adults. Often, those with complications related to age, including comorbidities and reduced organ function, are excluded from trials. Older folks are also less likely to be able to tolerate experimental treatments, which frequently results in their exclusion. This age disparity is an issue not just for cancer research, but also in other fields, including cardiovascular, neurological, and psychiatric studies. This causes blind spots in our medical systems and treatments, which are designed without older bodies in mind. Clinicians base the drug doses, side effects, and expected outcomes on younger participants—which can result in older patients becoming over- or under-treated, experiencing unexpected side effects, and leaving their doctors guessing as to their care outcomes. Mohile notes that, following the release of the new FDA guidance in 2022 on including more older adults, she worked with a multidisciplinary team that included academics, clinicians, and advocates in the National Cancer Institute and FDA to develop a series of articles that outline best practices to improve recruitment of older adults for clinical trials. However, the recommendations were just that. Age-related disparities in cancer research and health care as a whole remain in place. 'The challenge was that there's no carrot or stick,' Mohile said. She added, 'I don't think it's as much as it needs to be still—and I don't know if that'll change.' Would Biden, at the age of 82, even qualify for the trials funded under his own initiative? Mohile stops short of ruling it out (and notes that an experimental treatment might not be the best course of action for him anyway). Still, the fact is that cancer research is built largely around younger, healthier bodies. Aside from the findings of the research, the trials themselves can be bastions of hope, and enrolling in them can be a last resort for many with cancer—providing access to experimental treatments that give them a fighting chance. When you get turned away from that, it can be devastating, no matter how old you are. This is ageism, pure and simple—and it's a problem in not just medicine but society in general. We devalue older adults. We associate increased age with decline and irrelevance. Older people are seen as a burden rather than members of society who deserve dignity, respect, and attention, just like anyone else. Economic incentives deprioritize the complex, long-term care these folks require—and encourage our willful ignorance of their needs. Yet we have all the more reason to design medicine that actually accommodates the complexities of aging bodies. If most older patients have a comorbidity, then that's not a reason to exclude them from trials—it's the reason to include them. It doesn't matter if it's complicated and expensive. Medicine shouldn't be designed around 'ideal' bodies; it should rise to meet real ones. It's not a stretch to say that the future of society depends on our research on and attention to older adults, including those suffering from multiple ailments at a time. The global population is getting very old, very quickly. Those age 65 and older are the fastest-growing demographic group on Earth, according to the United Nations. In the U.S. alone, that cohort will make up roughly 25 percent of the population by 2060, compared with just 16.8 percent today. It's not a question of if. Aging—and all of the diseases and health complications that come with it—is one of the most complex and impactful issues of the future. The issue isn't going to get any better anytime soon either. President Donald Trump, who is also a geriatric politician who would greatly benefit from research into age-related diseases, has been busy in the first few months of his second term taking a massive knife to health care research. He cut cancer research funding by 31 percent earlier this year and also reduced the budgets for crucial research bodies such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation by billions of dollars. This is on top of the pause on all federal research grants, a break that has resulted in widespread disruption and uncertainty for ongoing clinical research. This, like so much of American governance, is wildly out of step with where the world is heading. The dream of the Cancer Moonshot is a future where cancer research reflects its patients, and not what saves the most money. It takes courage to rethink whom our science and health care is designed for—and whom we consider worth saving. However, that is accomplished not just by offering FDA guidance and recommendations—especially because, as we've seen, so much of it can be undone by the whims of the executive branch. What is needed, Mohile explains, is an act of Congress that would make it a requirement to take older adults into account when designing treatments. She points to bills that have been passed by Congress, such as the 2017 RACE for Children Act and those that require pediatric testing of cancer drugs. 'There's not a congressional mandate for older adults,' she noted. 'It's not required.' So if the Moonshot and other large-scale efforts really want to adhere to their moral promise of eliminating cancer, they should actively center the kind of person most likely to face the disease: somebody like Joe Biden.
