Cancer treatment norms for Indian patients released……Pritha Chatterjee
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has released the first-ever guidelines for cancer treatment in the country. The guidelines provide treatment protocol specific to the Indian population.
American and European guidelines are being currently followed in India and the council has assessed the different treatment requirements of Indian patients.
The project was started in 2007 and the guidelines have been compiled after consultation with 132 oncologists and scientists from across the country, for 20 cancer sites in the body.
In the first batch, treatment protocols for cancers of stomach, cervix and buccal mucosa (the inner lining of the mouth cavity) have been released.
Clinicians have often pointed out that Indian patients respond differently than cancer patients from developed countries to the same treatment. The purpose of this project was to review the principles of cancer management guidelines and to assess if any differences in patients response to treatment exist under Indian circumstances, and suggest the best evidence-based available strategies for treatment , Dr VM Katoch, Director General of ICMR, states in the preface to the report.
Dr Kishore Chaudhry, Scientist, F of ICMR, and one of the co-authors of the study, says the guidelines will help bring some rationality to cancer treatment.
American and European guidelines were being followed in India so far. This is the first step to assess whether Indian cancer patients have different requirements, and to lay down concrete guidelines for the same.
Sub-committees of renowned experts reviewed both international and Indian literature to identify if there was any difference in the Indian context.
We reviewed all available existing literature on treatment modalities, and tried to tell doctors what works and what does not for Indian patients, explains Dr Chaudhry.
After presenting an analysis of the findings of available research, the report lays down an algorithmic approach for management of cancer.
It starts with details of the investigations required for diagnosis, and then moves on to cytological, pathological, surgical, and radiodiagnostic pre-treatment evaluations to rule out co-infections.
It lays down techniques for assessing the stage at which the cancer is presented. Details of the chemical, surgical and radiational treatment protocol for every stage are presented, along with a detailed risk evaluation at every step.
For chemotherapy, specific drugs, along with requirements of dosage and technique, have been laid down.
Periodical evaluations to assess the condition of the patient after every cycle of chemotherapy have been specified.