Mumbai, March 6: Women may soon be able to check their own risk of developing breast cancer using a mobile application being developed by scientists at the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Kharghar, a part of the Tata Memorial Centre.
App aims to identify high-risk individuals
The app is designed to help identify individuals who are at higher risk of cancer so they can undergo screening at the right time. According to Dr. Rajesh Dikshit, Director of the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology at ACTREC, screening the entire population in India is not feasible due to the country’s large population and limited healthcare resources. Therefore, identifying high-risk groups first is considered a more practical approach.
Users required to input health and lifestyle information
Users will need to enter basic information in the app such as age, Body Mass Index (BMI), number of children, menopausal status, hip-to-waist ratio and certain lifestyle factors. Based on this information, the app will estimate whether a person’s risk of developing breast cancer is higher or lower than the average population.
The model works by first calculating the relative risk based on these factors. This is then converted into absolute risk using cancer incidence data from the Indian population and the prevalence of various risk factors. Data from national surveys such as the National Family Health Survey are used in the calculations.
Future integration of genetic risk assessment
In the future, the app may also include genetic risk assessment through polygenic risk scores. This would require a blood test, and if genetic risk is high, the model would provide a more accurate estimate of cancer risk.
Focus on privacy and free access
Importantly, the application will be free to use and the personal information entered by users will not be stored on any server. Instead, the data will remain only on the user’s mobile device to ensure privacy.
Plans to include additional cancer risk models
Apart from breast cancer, researchers are also working to include risk models for buccal mucosa (oral cancer) and gallbladder cancer. However, experts note that risk prediction models are particularly useful for cancers like breast and gallbladder, while risk factors for oral cancer—such as tobacco and alcohol use—are already well known.
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According to Dr. Dikshit, the app is expected to be ready by November or December this year and could help people understand their cancer risk early and seek timely screening if needed.
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