Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a nationally known medical professional and Diabetologist, said here today that early detection is the key to control Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and many other lifestyle disorders as well as to cure several Cancers including Breast Cancer.

The Minister said, with early diagnosis, and easy access to breakthrough treatments available in the country, India can conquer breast cancer in its early stages itself.

Speaking at “The Week Connect” event titled ‘Expanding Breast Cancer Care for Indian Women’ here, Dr Jitendra Singh lauded "The Week” for having a HEALTH supplement, which has been in print for more than 15 years now. He said, this is in keeping with the tradition and legacy of Malayala Manorama Group.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on health, youth and women is the best bet to tackle breast cancer, one of the commonest malignancies among women worldwide and also in India. He said, there has been immense advancement in breast cancer research, which has facilitated better understanding of its molecular landscape and tumour heterogeneity. Sequencing efforts, for example, have helped explain the primary driver genes involved in breast cancer, he added.

Dr Jitendra Singh informed that CSIR labs under the Ministry of Science and Technology are in the forefront of India’s cancer research efforts. Moreover, the Central Drug Research Institute in Lucknow is leading the way in developing High Value Generic drugs through non-infringing and cost-effective synthetic route, designing and synthesising of New Chemical Entities against clinically validated cancer drug targets, preclinical evaluation of potent anti-cancer entities, among other activities, he added.

Quoting figures, Dr Jitendra Singh said, In India, 37.2 percent women died from breast cancer in 2020, as compared to the Asian rate of 34 per cent, while the global average was 30 per cent. He added that the high mortality rates with breast cancer in India could be related to late diagnosis, which is primarily due to lack of proper awareness and the absence of screening for the at-risk population.

The Minister, however, underlined that there is reason for hope because breast cancer is highly preventable and highly curative; the earlier it is detected, the better are the chances of effective treatment and survival. He said, research has yielded a number of exciting developments in breast cancer diagnosis and treatment that ensure fewer complications, and fewer side effects and improve the lives of breast cancer patients for the years to come.

Dr Jitendra Singh was pleased to note that earlier, patients were only treated with chemotherapy and radiation apart from surgery. Now there are many available treatment options. New oral therapies have come in, such as the CDK4/6 Inhibitors which are used to treat hormone positive Metastatic Breast Cancer. Indian companies like Cipla are introducing a generic version of Palbociclib (a CDK4/6 Inhibitor) in India, which costs less than ₹5000/ monthly, and can be accessed by a large pool of patients. This way, the introduction of more Indian generics will help impact a great number of patients, the Minister said.

Supporting the idea of special breast cancer clinics across the country like the wellness centres, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Ayushman Bharat is so far the world's best health insurance scheme and credit goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having conceptualised it.

He emphasised that this is possibly the only health insurance scheme in the world which offers the option of seeking insurance cover even for a pre-existing disease, like for example, if today a person is detected having cancer, or even breast cancer, one can get herself insured to receive the financial support for treatment.

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