TLI Staff
New Delhi: With the scourge of cancer fast spreading in the country, a Parliamentary panel has endorsed a proposal from Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) recommending to set up a chain of cancer care centres on hub-and-spoke model on urgent basis.
The panel chaired by senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh has noted that the current style of working in silos to address cancer treatment in India may not yield the desired results. It has, therefore, suggested to develop synergy between all government agencies.
In its proposal to establish hub-and-spoke model, the TMC has estimated that creation of the hubs would require an amount of Rs 13,000 crore over 12 years (to be adjusted for inflation) and the states would require to fund the spokes for which Rs 22,000 crore over 12 years (to be adjusted for inflation) would be required.
Such network of cancer care centres working in close co-ordination would also help bring the cost of treatment as a result of group negotiation for construction activities, equipment, drugs, and consumables.
“The Committee shares the vision and accepts the proposal of Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai in rolling out its Hub and Spoke Model in various parts of the country, on an urgent basis,” the Committee said in its report.
The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment, Forests & Climate Change also appreciated the idea of raising money from philanthropic sources including Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for cancer research and treatment.
As per International Agency for Research on Cancer GLOBOCAN project, it is expected that the burden of cancer in India will increase from an estimated incidence of 1.3 million cases in 2018 to about 1.7 million in 2035.
The Committee said that the estimated burden of cancer in India by 2035 is worrisome and expects the Central and State Governments to ensure adequate infrastructure in the country to tackle it with the highest priority.
“The Committee is especially worried to note that the incidence of cancer is very high in all North Eastern States, as it is higher than the national average for several types of cancer, showing a consistently rising trend over the past few decades,” the report of the Parliamentary panel noted.
It has been found that the current infrastructure is grossly inadequate to handle this issue and even by Ayushman Bharat records, two-thirds of the cancer care is actually provided in the private sector with the result that almost every year, six crore of India’s population goes below the poverty line because of the catastrophic healthcare related expenditure on cancer.
As per official data, 16 lakh cases of cancer are reported every year. Nearly 8 lakh people die of the deadly disease annually. Among the common cancers are breast and cervical in women while oral cavity and gastro-intestinal tract in men.
| Incidence of Cancer | 16 lakhs annually (estimated) |
| Mortality of cancer | 8 lakhs every year (estimated) |
| Common Cancer (Estimated incidence every year) | |
| Women | |
| Breast | 1,40,000 |
| Cervical | 1,00,000 |
| Oral | 45,000 |
| Men | |
| Oral Cavity | 1,38,000 |
| Pharynx | 90,000 |
| Gastro-intestinal tract (stomach etc) | 2,00,000 |
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