Kidwai, IISc pact for breast cancer study
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Strand Life Sciences have collaborated to perform a 'molecular omics' study of breast cancer in the Indian population.
The research is focused at identification and validation of molecular signatures and biomarkers for Indian breast cancer patients.
The study will address the acute need to focus on breast cancer, which is the second leading cause of death among women. In fact, reports indicate that the incidence of breast cancer is on the rise and has overtaken cervical cancer incidences in all urban centres including Bangalore in the span of a decade. The study will cover a sample of 300 women, suffering from breast cancer, who have consented to take part in the study.
More alarming is the indication of the trend that shows that one in every 22 women in India is likely to suffer from breast cancer in the coming year. Recent studies also reveal the ascending number of young women contracting this type of cancer before menopause.
Interestingly, this data is in contrast to that of Caucasian women who suffer from breast cancer mostly after attaining menopause. Dr Geetashree Mukherjee from Kidwai Hospital pointed out that her department sees about 1,000 breast cancer tissues every year.
Strand plans to compare the data from Caucasian and African partners with data obtained from this study. The study results will help identify biological markers that can distinguish subtypes and develop diagnostic kits for prognosis predictions.
