<p>ICMR, with the support of IISc and four hospitals, is set to launch the Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMD) Atlas Project, that will help in early detection of oral cancer.</p>.<p>OPMDs are the precursors of over 80 per cent of oral cancers. However, in the early stages, OPMDs and oral cancers are difficult to detect. The Atlas Project is expected to make early detection and treatment easier.</p>.<p>Two Bengaluru-based institutes — KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences and Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Foundation — along with the National Cancer Institute-AIIMS and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Varanasi, will recruit patients and collect data for the project.</p>.<p>The four hospitals will look at the data of 5,000 patients over five years, collecting data four times annually from each patient. Data on various aspects, such as clinical data, risk factors and cytology, will be collected and analysed so as to give a comprehensive understanding of the disease, said Dr Praveen Birur of KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences.</p>.<p>Based on the data collected under the project, AI tools will develop predictive models for various aspects, such as assessing whether the person's condition is benign or not, if the person has low or high risk, etc. "These AI tools are already available, and the project will bring them on one platform," said Dr Birur.</p>.<p>India is estimated to have 1.35 lakh new cases of lip and oral cavity cancer annually. While biopsy is considered the gold standard for oral cancer diagnosis, it is invasive and expensive.</p>.<p>Dr Phaneendra Yalavarthy of IISc said that developing the right screening tool under the project, with accuracy on par with that of biopsy, will take a couple of years. </p>.<p>"Developing the right screening tool in India is a challenge because of the large number of oral cancer patients from varied settings. The tool can be deployed in healthcare settings once it reaches the gold standard."</p>
<p>ICMR, with the support of IISc and four hospitals, is set to launch the Oral Potentially Malignant Disorders (OPMD) Atlas Project, that will help in early detection of oral cancer.</p>.<p>OPMDs are the precursors of over 80 per cent of oral cancers. However, in the early stages, OPMDs and oral cancers are difficult to detect. The Atlas Project is expected to make early detection and treatment easier.</p>.<p>Two Bengaluru-based institutes — KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences and Mazumdar-Shaw Medical Foundation — along with the National Cancer Institute-AIIMS and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital, Varanasi, will recruit patients and collect data for the project.</p>.<p>The four hospitals will look at the data of 5,000 patients over five years, collecting data four times annually from each patient. Data on various aspects, such as clinical data, risk factors and cytology, will be collected and analysed so as to give a comprehensive understanding of the disease, said Dr Praveen Birur of KLE Society’s Institute of Dental Sciences.</p>.<p>Based on the data collected under the project, AI tools will develop predictive models for various aspects, such as assessing whether the person's condition is benign or not, if the person has low or high risk, etc. "These AI tools are already available, and the project will bring them on one platform," said Dr Birur.</p>.<p>India is estimated to have 1.35 lakh new cases of lip and oral cavity cancer annually. While biopsy is considered the gold standard for oral cancer diagnosis, it is invasive and expensive.</p>.<p>Dr Phaneendra Yalavarthy of IISc said that developing the right screening tool under the project, with accuracy on par with that of biopsy, will take a couple of years. </p>.<p>"Developing the right screening tool in India is a challenge because of the large number of oral cancer patients from varied settings. The tool can be deployed in healthcare settings once it reaches the gold standard."</p>
