There are key advances in cancer treatment, but how to address disparities in care | Top Vip News

One of the most likely causes of cancer is inflammation, as it often leads to conditions where the immune system deteriorates and even becomes counterproductive. Recent advances in targeted therapies have greatly improved the prognosis of inflammation-induced diseases and disorders. If treated properly in time, cancer can be reduced to the level of a chronic disease, which is why precision medicine has become the most important discovery of our times.

Precision medicine, targeted therapy and robotic surgery

What does precision medicine mean in simple terms? Simply put, precision medicine replaces the traditional way of treating each cancer patient using standard protocols and guided by randomized trials. Personalizes treatment to ensure that the healing process is aligned with the patient’s specific characteristics.

If two patients have had the same disease detected in the same organ of origin and share the same pathological condition, why does the treatment invariably induce different responses in the two? What is the root cause? Is it genomic heterogenicity? Is it a subtle difference in pathology? or even if the pathology is the same, it is a hot tumor or a cold tumor; What are the PD-L1 expressions and molecular diagnostic expressions? And so on. Actionable genes guide us to the right therapy.

Precision medicine delves into the above questions and personalizes treatment using the right therapy for each patient, so that both patients achieve lasting results. A multidisciplinary approach to cancer care is quickly becoming the norm to provide the right treatment the first time. For example, lung cancer therapy has advanced in leaps and bounds, and even people with advanced disease are seeing better results with targeted therapy and immunotherapy. Laser technology has transformed treatments for early-stage laryngeal cancer and robotics has been a game-changer for late-stage cancer treatments.

Precision medicine is a work in progress of moving targets, so we will make a number of exciting advances on this highway of disruptive innovation, leading to research-backed discovery of new medicines. In the coming times, healthcare will increasingly benefit from a broad spectrum of technologies including robotic surgery, laser therapies, extended reality, targeted molecular imaging, digital pathology and cellular immuno-oncology therapy.

Disparities in healthcare

When it comes to disparities in healthcare, a desperate divide between rich and poor and between urban and rural areas remains one of the biggest challenges facing India, although in recent times, access to healthcare Quality in India’s two and three tier cities is constantly improving. Some cancer hospitals, especially those operating on a hub-and-spoke model, are progressively incorporating newer peripheral geographic territories. Many remote centers like Ongole and Ranchi are now equipped with linear accelerators, as well as access to the best genomic and molecular diagnostic knowledge and specialist advice from metropolitan centres.

That said, Indian cities and towns still face a shortage of competent doctors, nurses, administrative staff and health activists. Although there are government plans to serve the poorest sectors of society and they are generally doing a good job, they are not able to close the gap when it comes to high-quality advanced treatments such as immunotherapy and robotic surgeries. , as the reimbursement rates are not enough to cover the prices.

Major health care conversations in our country are obsessed with cost, at the expense of ignoring critical aspects such as treatment quality and outcomes. The cost of “low cost” is detrimental to the sector as it directly impacts the quality of results.

The government should create an advisory body composed of experts in the field, technocrats and government executives to develop prudent and sustainable solutions to address healthcare disparities. You can also create an endowment fund for specific healthcare spending by monetizing weakened assets, vacant real estate, and loss-making businesses. This fund can go a long way to funding critical healthcare initiatives and innovations.

Ideally, the government should play the role of monitoring agency to evaluate the performance of private hospitals, thereby penalizing wrongdoers and incentivizing those who do so.

Rich or poor, urban or rural, all patients have the same right to quality treatment. While private hospitals are trying their best to close the gaps, India’s fundamental need is universal health coverage without caps or limits, which alone will help eliminate existing disparities and institutionalize equality in healthcare. I sincerely hope that universal healthcare becomes a reality very soon and transforms healthcare in the true sense of the word.

-The author, Dr. BS Ajaikumar is one of India’s top oncologists and Chairman and CEO of HealthCare Global Enterprises Ltd. The views expressed are personal.