Knowledge Hub

ICMR Project

The primary purpose of hospital-based Cancer registries is to contribute to patient care by providing readily accessible information on patients with cancer, the treatment received, and its results.

Under the NCRP (National Cancer Registry Programme), MTMH has set up a Hospital Based Cancer Registry (HBCR) for the period 2017-2022.

Cancer Information

MTMH is proud to be associated with the Jeet Association for Support to Cancer Care (JASCAP), an NGO dedicated to providing patient information on cancer care. This is the fourth oncology centre of TATA for JASCAP – there are two in Mumbai, one in Kolkata and now in Jamshedpur. This association between JASCAP and MTMH is sure to empower patients and their caregiver community immensely.

Click here to read about JASCAP and to know more about the association with MTMH.

What is Cancer?

Cancer is the name given to a large group of diseases, all of which have one thing in common — cells that are growing out of control. Cells that make up the parts of our bodies go through a predictable life cycle — old cells die and new cells arise to take their place. Occasionally, this process goes awry, and cells begin to multiply out of control. The result is a mass of cells, called a tumour. A benign tumour does not spread or metastasize to other parts of the body. It is considered noncancerous. A malignant tumour, on the other hand, can spread throughout the body and is considered cancerous. When malignant cells break away from the primary tumour and settle into another part of the body, the resulting new tumour is called either a metastasis or a secondary tumour.

There are several major types of cancers:

Carcinomas form in the cells that cover the skin or line the mouth, throat, lungs, and organs
Sarcomas are found in the bones, muscles, fibrous tissues, and some organs
Leukaemia is found in the blood, the bone marrow, and the spleen
Lymphomas are found in the lymphatic system

Causes of Cancer

Cancer often takes many years to develop. The process typically begins with some disruption to the DNA of a cell, the genetic code that directs the life of the cell.

There can be many reasons for disruptions to the DNA of a cell. These are a few common ones

Some cells will enter a precancerous phase, known as dysplasia. Some cells will progress further to the state of carcinoma in situ, in which the cancer cells are restricted to a microscopic site, surrounded by a thick covering, and do not pose a great threat.

Eventually, unless the body’s immune system takes care of the wayward cells, a cancer will develop. It may take as long as 30 years for a tumour to go through the entire process and become large enough to produce symptoms.

Symptoms of Cancer

Since cancer can arise from such a wide variety of sites and develop with many differing patterns of spread, there are no clear- cut symptoms. The precise nature of symptoms of cancer depends not only on the primary site but specifically on where the tumour is located in an organ, the rate of development and if the secondary spread is present or not.

Many primary tumours cause local swelling or lump if they arise at a visible or accessible part of the body, such as the skin, breast, testicle, or oral cavity. A typical swelling due to cancer is initially painless, though ulceration (skin breakdown) can occur, which may then become painful.

Treatment of Cancer

The aim of cancer treatment is to cure the patient and save their life. In cases where a complete cure is not possible, treatment aims to control the disease and to keep the patient normal and comfortable for as long as possible. The treatment of each patient is designed to suit the patient based on three parameters

There may be only one treatment or combination of treatments. There are four main modalities of treatment: Surgery, Radiation therapy, Chemotherapy, Hormone therapy and Immunotherapy. Surgery and radiotherapy aim at eradicating the disease at the primary site (site of origin) of cancer whereas chemotherapy, hormone therapy and immunotherapy deal with a disease which may have spread outside the site of origin of cancer.

Surgery is the most important part of the cancer treatment. Surgery attempts to remove cancer cells from the body by cutting away the tumour and any tissues surrounding it which may contain cancer cells. It is a simple, safe and effective method when cancer is small and confined to the site of origin. It is best suited for certain types of cancers such as breast cancer, head and neck cancers, early cancers of the cervix and lung, many skin cancers, soft tissue cancers and gastrointestinal cancers.

Treatment through surgery

Treatment through radiotherapy

Radiotherapy has become the pre-eminent form of cancer treatment since the beginning of this century and now it is used for fifty percent of patients. Improvements in radiotherapy equipment, technique, and applications, have led to an increasing role both in local treatment and in its use as a whole-body treatment, as part of bone marrow transplantation techniques for leukaemia and other malignant diseases.

Radiation is a special kind of energy carried by waves or a stream of particles originating from radioactive substances and delivered by special machines. These radioactive X-rays or gamma rays can penetrate the cell wall and damage the nucleus of the cell which prevents the growth and division of cells. This also affects the normal cells but these cells recover more fully than cancer cells.

Chemotherapy uses drugs which interfere with the growth and division of malignant cells. Once the drugs are administered, they circulate throughout the body. It is advantageous over surgery and radiation for treating cancer that is systemic (spread throughout the body). Chemotherapy is very useful in treating cancers like leukaemia, lymphomas, and testicular cancer. Chemotherapy can be given as the primary treatment, or following surgery or radiotherapy to prevent the reappearance of cancer.

The side effects of the chemotherapy include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, fever etc. which are temporary and completely reversible.

Treatment through chemotherapy

Treatment through hormone therapy

Hormone therapy has limited use in cancer treatment since only a small minority of tumours are hormone-sensitive e.g. breast and prostate cancer. This therapy provides systemic means of treatment, i.e. to the whole body, but without the side effects of chemotherapy. It is a misconception that all cancers are incurable. Current methods of treatment are effective for many cancers. Many cancer patients are cured and more patients could be cured if their cancers were detected early and treated promptly. Please click here to know more about different types of cancer and treatment options. Source: TMH, Mumbai