Mumbai: The third Indian Cancer Congress (ICC) which was being held at the Jio World Convention Centre, Mumbai, was concluded on Sunday with the theme 'Continuum of Care in Cancer' witnessing more than 5,000-6,000 oncology professionals from India, neighboring countries, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Europe, Africa, and North America.
The ICC is a collaboration between the four largest professional oncology societies of India, which together represent the majority of practicing surgical, radiation and medical oncologists of India, as well as other specialists like onco-pathologists, onco-radiologists, etc. The four societies are the Indian Association of Surgical Oncology (IASO), The Indian Society of Oncology (ISO), The Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology (ISMPO), and The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India (AROI). ICC is jointly conducted once every four years by the four organisations instead of their annual conferences. The first and second editions were conducted in Delhi in 2013 and Bengaluru in 2017, respectively.
State-of-art practice in oncology
Dr Sanjay Sharma, a renowned cancer surgeon from Mumbai and the organising chairperson of ICC said, “The congress brings together all doctors and other professionals who deliver cancer care in India and will be a landmark event to promote state-of-art practice in oncology.”
Dr Devendra Chaukar, eminent head and neck cancer surgeon at the Max Nanavati Hospital, and the secretary-general of ICC said, “It took four years of planning to organise the congress. This is the largest cancer conference conducted in India with 14 simultaneous sessions on each day for 4 days. The deliberations at the congress were especially impactful for trainees and young oncologists.”
Diagnostic and treatment constricted and limited to urban areas
India cannot get overzealous on screening as the diagnostic and treatment avenues are hugely constricted and limited to urban areas, said a senior state official.
Dr Sudeep Gupta, professor of medical oncology at Tata Memorial Centre and the scientific chairperson of ICC, said one of the important achievements of this congress is the presentation of over 2,000 original research abstracts by young doctors and scientists from various parts of India.
“ICC collaborated with internationally renowned cancer organisations such as the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO), the Society of Surgical Oncologists, and others, in this congress,” he said.
Dr D Raghunadha Rao, an expert in the field of medical oncology, and former director of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCHRC), was presented the prestigious ‘Legends in Oncology - Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the 3rd Indian Cancer Congress on Nov 2.
Dr Rajendra Badwe, director of Tata Memorial Centre, while delivering a keynote talk on breast cancer, said that cancer screenings currently should be confined to breast, oral and cervical cancer and that alone could help the country tackle a large chunk of the disease burden.
