Apollo Hospitals introduces Precision oncology, a new paradigm in Cancer Care.

The largest integrated healthcare provider group in Asia, Apollo Hospitals, has been offering the latest in cancer care to its patients ever since its inception more than three decades ago. Thousands of patients who have benefitted from the superior technology and unmatched clinical skills vouch for the outstanding outcomes they have experienced.

Cancer is rapidly assuming epidemic proportions and is amongst the top three killers in the world. Incidence of cancer is unusually high in India and we are fast approaching the dubious positioning of being the Global Cancer Capital. As a leader in healthcare in this part of the world, Apollo Hospitals has decided to take the fight to cancer.

Apollo Hospitals, has now converted the cancer management infrastructure into an independent functional entity, Apollo Cancer Institutes. Apart from creating independent institutes, Apollo has networked these institutes to leverage the strengths of all its specialists and the technology across the country. Apollo Cancer Institutes in Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Bilaspur, Bengaluru and Madurai are part of this new initiative. All of them work on a common platform using standardized protocols ensuring uniform standards of care for every patient walking into the Apollo ecosystem.

PRECISION ONCOLOGY:

With advances in technology and the understanding of cancer, management of cancer has moved from the tissue level to the molecular level. This makes cancer management more precise and personalized. The traditional method of treating the same type of cancer with the same drug is a thing of the past. Today with the molecular understanding of tumor cells and availability of Chemo sensitivity techniques, the same type of cancer in different individuals is treated with different drugs. Similarly, newer surgical techniques using minimally invasive (Robotic Surgery) technology makes excision of tumors more precise and accurate. Our Oncologists have begun to focus on specific organs and this organ specific skill and expertise is producing results par excellence. New radiation techniques like True beam, Novalis Tx, Tomotherapy and Proton Therapy (being installed soon) add to the armamentarium of our oncologist in delivering radiation to the cancerous cells sparing the surrounding normal cells. All these techniques apart from enhancing precision and personalizing treatment also bring down the complication rates, shorten treatment duration and deliver far better results. Precision oncology at Apollo Cancer Institutes, gives hope to every patient and delivers care that achieves the goal of conquering cancer.

Cancer is a complex disease and management decisions are also complex. To demystify cancer management decisions our specialists meet as teams (Tumor Boards) and develop the most optimal treatment protocol for every patient. Similar Group wide tumor boards are also functional for second opinion services for complicated situations.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Group of Hospitals, while announcing Precision Oncology at Apollo Cancer Institutes, said, “Cancer has been a dreaded disease and is threatening to harm millions of individuals in the community. It is estimated that over a million deaths occur due to cancer in India every year and this rate is skyrocketing. We cannot let this cancer epidemic go on. We are determined to fight it and win the fight over cancer. Gone are the days of ‘one size fits all’. Cancer care has moved into the era of personalized medicine where individual therapies are tailored to fit the needs of individual patients. Precision Oncology at Apollo Cancer Institutes delivers this personalized care to every patient. We have taken up the challenge of making cancer history, not because it is easy, but because it is difficult and still a distinct possibility today.”