New Delhi: The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is working with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on a nationwide system for early detection and reporting of childhood cancer, including a possible registry and making the disease notifiable, amid concern over delayed diagnosis and low survival rates among children in India.
“One of the key priorities in childhood cancer care is early detection. Setting up a registry for childhood cancer and declaring it a notifiable disease is an issue. We are still working with ICMR on this. The aim is not to miss any patient,” said Leimapokpam Swasticharan, Deputy Director General, Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), on Thursday.
The move comes as India records an estimated 75,000 new childhood cancer cases annually, while survival rates remain below 60%, according to experts and studies cited at a national workshop organised by the Indian Childhood Cancer Initiative (ICCI).
Calling childhood cancer a “low hanging fruit” in improving cancer survival outcomes, Dr Swasticharan said the government’s existing non-communicable disease (NCD) programme already includes a cancer component, but the immediate focus is on identifying children early and ensuring treatment support reaches them in time.
“The priority is that a childhood cancer patient should be detected early and get financial support and medical care,” he said.
He also suggested adopting successful district level models from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including innovative financing mechanisms and community participation through self-help groups.
Former NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V.K. Paul said India’s biggest challenge is enabling families and frontline workers to recognise symptoms early enough for treatment to begin before the disease advances.
“If for childhood cancer the approach is a trigger that comes from the family based on care-seeking, then I have to enable families,” he said.
“Educating families, educating grassroots workers, educating even the doctors could be the way forward,” Dr Paul added, while advocating wider use of telemedicine, regional support systems and national helplines for continuing care.
Highlighting the role of Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PM-JAY), Dr Paul said the scheme has become a critical support system for children requiring cancer treatment.
“This programme is huge, as you know, 60 crore people,” he said.
Doctors and public health experts also pushed for a dedicated National Childhood Cancer Programme and stronger global partnerships.
Dr Ramandeep Arora, paediatric oncologist at Max Hospital and governing council member of ICCI, said India already has the expertise and clinical infrastructure needed for treatment, but requires stronger policy backing to improve outcomes nationwide.
“A National Childhood Cancer Programme and an MoU with the WHO to make India a partner and focus country will further bring global best practices and technology to the country,” he said.
Dr Arora also pointed to a 2022 Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendation that called for a comprehensive national childhood cancer policy covering early diagnosis, shared care and integrated paediatric oncology palliative care.
