The software team of the National Cancer Registry Programme, Indian Council of Medical Research, has developed a Hospital Based Cancer Registry – Data Management – Software application programme for use by cancer centers, individual oncologists or pathologists involved in oncology.

The Indian Institute of Head & Neck Oncology is contributing to this data base. Since inception, the Institute has maintained detailed patient data; this new development is likely to ensure that our institute statistics are included in the national cancer registry.

The World Health Organization provided the funds for our project on Community Oral Cancer Control & Prevention’ in Ratlam district, 80 km from Indore. As a part of this project, scientists from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and members of the Indore Cancer Foundation trained medical practitioners, dentists and basic health workers in early detection of oral cancer. 63,900 high-risk persons above the age of 35 years who had some tobacco habit were also surveyed. Cancer detection camps were held. Cancer awareness publicity was conducted through hoardings, cinema slides, pamphlets and newspapers. The findings of this study were presented at the 16th International Cancer Congress at New Delhi in October 1994. The WHO accepted the final report in December 1995.

A second grant from the World Health Organization was received to conduct a survey on the incidence of cancer pain in the rural areas’ of a few districts in Madhya Pradesh. We made a poster presentation on the findings of the survey at the World Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, Spain, in August 1996. As a matter of fact, the findings of this survey helped us identify one of our later projects namely the creation of a district-based model for Palliative Care.