Parl panel recommends Cancer to be declared as notified disease in India. All you need to know

The 139th report on "Cancer Care Plan and Management: Prevention, Diagnosis, Research & Affordability of Cancer Treatment" was submitted tot he Rajya Sabha chairman on Monday, which recommended that the Cancer be declared as a notifiable disease. The parliamentary standing committee on the health and family welfare made the recommendation citing several unreported deaths owing to cancer in India. 

What is Cancer?

Cancer is a disease in which some of the body's cells grow uncontrollably and spread to other parts of the body. The ability to combat the disease and recover depends on few factors including at which stage the disease was diagnosed. Cancer often has the ability to spread throughout your body. Cancer is the second-leading cause of death in the world.

What is a notifiable disease?

A notifiable disease is any disease that is required by law to be reported to government authorities. The collation of information allows the authorities to monitor the disease, and provides early warning of possible outbreaks.

Need for Cancer registry in India

The Committee expressed its deep displeasure over the National Cancer Registry Programme (NCRP) is working since 1982 through Population Based Cancer Registry (PBCR) and Hospital Based Cancer Registry (HBCR) but only 10 per cent of the Indian population is covered under PBCRs.

States that need population based registry

The Committee recommended the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (ICMR) to take requisite action to set up a population-based cancer registry (PCBR) in rural areas of

Uttar Pradesh

Madhya Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Rajasthan

Telangana

Orissa 

How does designating Cancer as notifiable disease help?

The Parliamentary Standing Committee has stated that an accurate mortality database in the hospital information system will improve cancer registry, follow up and outcome data. The committee has recommended that the cancer deaths should mandatorily be reported to the Government machinery.

The Committee said that making Cancer a "Notified Disease" will surely ensure a robust database of cancer deaths and also help in determining the accurate incidence and prevalence of Cancer in the country. It will also help in analyzing the risk factors, implementing screening programs, and allocating proper resources to improve cancer outcomes. Data collected can also be used to formulate standard treatment guidelines that will further strengthen the continuum of cancer care.

Portal for Cancer registration

The committee, headed by MP Ram Gopal Yadav has recommended the creation of a CoWIN-like portal for registration, real-time data collection, counselling, supportive resources for cancer care along with interactive tools.

"The Committee further recommends that to streamline and improve data collection a CoWIN-like web portal for the registration, real-time data collection, counselling, supportive resources for cancer care along with interactive tools can be created by the Government. The portal can also be equipped to aid those affected by cancer by guiding them through the treatment and management journey," it added.

The Committee also recommended that the Ministry ensure the linking of Cancer Registry data with Ayushman Bharat / PMJY, mortality databases, and the Hospital Information System (HIS) to improve cancer registration, follow up and outcome data.

Cancer deaths in India

The Committee in their report said that Cancer is still not classified as a notifiable disease which results in underreporting of cancer deaths. The Committee notes that ambiguity on the actual cause of death is a major hurdle in data collection. It has been brought to the notice of the Committee that many times death is simply recorded as a cardio-respiratory failure without mentioning the actual cause of death.