Lok Sabha Question No. 2796 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-20
Subject: National Cancer Grid
Ministry: ATOMIC ENERGY
Asked by: Ranjanben Dhananjay Bhatt

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2796

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2023

## National Cancer Grid

## 2796. SHRIMATI RANJANBEN DHANANJAY BHATT:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- a) the details of the specific measures being implemented to ensure that patients receive high quality cancer care at a cost that is affordable;
- b) the  details  of  the  specific  research  outputs  introduced  in  the  field  of  cancer care during the last four years; and
- c) the  details  of  the  manner  in  which  the  National  Cancer  Grid  is  involved  in Cancer Care along with the list of centres, research institutes, etc., that are part of its network, State-wise?

## ANSWER

## THE  MINISTER  OF  STATE  FOR  PERSONNEL,  PUBLIC  GRIEVANCES  & PENSIONS AND PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

- a) The TMC has been providing high quality cancer care at an affordable cost by following  unique  model  of  60:40  ratio  under  which  60%  patients  receive treatment at highly subsidized or almost free treatment and rest 40% as private patients pay for their care. The rates for private patients are comparably low to the rates as charged by the private hospitals in the country.
- b) Tata  Memorial  Centre  has  conducted  multiple  research  and  outputs  are published in renowned journals. The research was conducted to develop novel treatment  strategies,  improved  treatment  and  delivery  mechanisms,  costeffective treatment and technologies, population-based low-cost interventions for  prevention  and  early  detection  of  cancer  and  translational  research.  The details  of  few  of  the  important  articles  published  in  the  last  four  years  are given in Annex-I.
- c) National  Cancer  Grid  (NCG)  was  created  in  2012  with  the  broad  vision  of creating uniform standards of cancer care across India. Seven years later, it has grown  to  a  large  network  of  310  cancer  centres,  research  institutes,  patient

advocacy groups, charitable organizations and professional societies. Between the member organizations of the NCG, the network treats over 8,00,000 new patients  with  cancer  annually,  which  is  about  60%  of  all  of  India's  cancer burden.  Incorporating all  stakeholders  of  cancer  care  in  India,  it  is  a  strong, unified and powerful voice in the fight against cancer.

NCG activities include the following:

1. Uniform standards of care - NCG Consensus Guidelines
2. External Quality Assurance Schemes (EQAS)
3. Second opinion service for patients - 'Navya'
4. NCG Virtual Tumor Boards
5. Price  Discovery  Cell  /  Group  negotiation  for  equipment,  drugs  and consumables
6. Continuing  Medical  Education  -  NCG  National  Cancer  Library  and Discovery tool 'Akshara'
7. Unique  Educational  Initiatives  -  'Travelling  Schools  of  Pathology  and Oncology Nursing'
8. Training  in  Cancer  Research  Methods  -  International  Collaboration  on Research methods Development in Oncology - CreDO workshop
9. NCG funded multicentric collaborative research
10. NCG Koita Centre for Digital Oncology

The details of NCG centeres arranged state wise is available on the web site :

https://www.ncgindia.org/hospitals-and-institutions/members.

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## Annex - I

|   Sr. No | Title of the research Article                                                                                                                                                                                             | Journal                                         |   Year of Publication | Area of contribution   |
|----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------|
|        1 | Effect of Peritumoral Infiltration of Local Anesthetic Before Surgery on Survival in Early Breast Cancer                                                                                                                  | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2023 | Breast cancer          |
|        2 | Large randomized clinical trial proved that Yoga increases the quality-of-life and cure rates in women with breast cancer                                                                                                 | The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) |                  2022 | Breast cancer          |
|        3 | Addition of platinum to sequential taxane-anthracycline neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with triple- negative breast cancer: A phase III randomized controlled trial                                                 | The San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) |                  2022 | Breast cancer          |
|        4 | Low-cost oral metronomic chemotherapy versus intravenous cisplatin in patients with recurrent, metastatic, inoperable head and neck carcinoma: an open-label, parallel- group, non-inferiority, randomised, phase 3 trial | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2020 | Head and Neck Cancer   |
|        5 | Low-Dose Immunotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer: A Randomized Study                                                                                                                                                        | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2022 | Head and Neck Cancer   |
|        6 | Prospective Phase II Open-Label Randomized Controlled Trial to Compare Mandibular Preservation in Upfront Surgery With Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Followed by Surgery in Operable Oral Cavity Cancer                        | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2021 | Head and Neck Cancer   |
|        7 | Late Toxicity After Adjuvant Conventional Radiation Versus Image- Guided Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Cervical Cancer (PARCER): A Randomized Controlled Trial                                                     | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2021 | Cervical Cancer        |
|        8 | Prostate-Only Versus Whole-Pelvic Radiation Therapy in High-Risk and Very High-Risk Prostate Cancer (POP- RT): Outcomes From Phase III Randomized Controlled Trial                                                        | Journal of Clinical Oncology                    |                  2021 | Prostate cancer        |
|        9 | Efficacy of Capecitabine Plus Irinotecan vs Irinotecan Monotherapy as Second- line Treatment in Patients With Advanced Gallbladder Cancer: A Multicenter Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial (GB-SELECT)                    | JAMA Oncology                                   |                  2020 | Gallbladder Cancer     |

|   Sr. No | Title of the research Article                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        | Journal                               |   Year of Publication | Area of contribution   |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------|-----------------------|------------------------|
|       10 | Clinical impact of panel-based error- corrected next generation sequencing versus flow cytometry to detect measurable residual disease (MRD) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML)                                                                                                         | Leukemia                              |                  2021 | Blood Cancer           |
|       11 | Flow cytometric evaluation of CD38 expression levels in the newly diagnosed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and the effect of chemotherapy on its expression in measurable residual disease, refractory disease and relapsed disease: an implication for anti-CD38 immunotherapy | Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer   |                  2020 | Blood Cancer           |
|       12 | Circulating Clonal Plasma Cells at Diagnosis and Peripheral Blood Measurable Residual Disease Assessment Provide Powerful Prognostication Biomarkers in Newly- Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients Treated without Autologous Transplant                                             | Blood- American Society of Hematology |                  2022 | Blood Cancer           |
|       13 | Effect of screening by clinical breast examination on breast cancer incidence and mortality after 20 years: prospective, cluster randomised controlled trial in Mumbai                                                                                                               | The British Medical Journal           |                  2021 | Public health          |

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