Rohit Shishodia
Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan has stressed that the Indian government is committed to reduce cancer burden in India by employing latest technologies in genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, artificial intelligence and machine learning- mediated data analysis.

Speaking at the 2nd Cancer Genome Atlas 2020 Conference on December 4, 2020, the minister pointed out that diverse molecular mechanisms, including genetic and lifestyle factors, contribute to cancer, posing significant challenges to treatment.

“Therefore, it is necessary to better understand the underlying factors patient by patient. In this context, it is important that we create indigenous, open-source and comprehensive database of molecular profiles of all cancers prevalent in Indian population,” recommended Dr Vardhan

The minister urged the participating doctors to focus on important issues of uniformity and integrity of specimens representing different parts of India, to make Indian Cancer Genomics Atlas (ICGA) useful for clinicians throughout India.

Dr Vardhan emphasized this would set the way forward in making cancer treatment accessible and affordable. He enumerated several large-scale mission mode projects by the government such as Genome India, IndiGene Nutrition Mission etc. All these aimed at improving clinical outcomes in cancer and other chronic diseases, added Dr Vardhan.

Prof Shekhar Mande, DG, CSIR, underlined the importance of scientific team building from diverse backgrounds in strategizing a coordinated response. He noted that establishment of Indian Cancer Genomics Atlas (ICGA) is a much needed initiative and will add value to India and to the world of science in terms of cancer treatment.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said that TCGA is a landmark cancer genomics program that molecularly characterized over 20,000 primary cancers and matched normal samples spanning 33 cancer types.

The ministry adds that this joint effort between the US National Cancer Institute and the National Human Genome Research Institute began in 2006, bringing together researchers from diverse disciplines and multiple institutions.

According to the ministry, over the years, TCGA generated over 2.5 petabytes of genomic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic data. The data, which has already led to improvements in the ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent cancer, will remain publicly available for anyone in the research community to use.

On similar lines, the establishment of an ‘Indian Cancer Genomics Atlas (ICGA)’ has been initiated by a consortium of key stakeholders in India led by CSIR, which has several government agencies, cancer hospitals, academic institutions and private sector partners.