ICMR to Validate and Centralise Telangana’s Cancer Registry Data

Hyderabad: The health department said it was in the final stages of launching a cancer registry website, aimed at streamlining patient data collection and monitoring. The initiative was being implemented in collaboration with the MNJ Institute of Oncology and Regional Cancer Centre and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The draft memorandum of understanding for the alliance was complete and awaited finalization.

Officials said a pilot project had been completed, and all district medical and health officers (DMHOs) had been trained to track patients from the point of entry to treatment, and to upload the data onto the proposed portal. Officials said the website was expected to go live within a week.

A senior official told Deccan Chronicle, “All officers are working towards making the platform live. The design and structure of the portal are already in place. ICMR’s role will be to validate the data collected by the state, remove duplications, and return the refined data.”

As per the framework, major cancer laboratories will be given direct access to upload their data, though they will not be able to view other data on the system. Smaller centres and institutions will submit their data to the respective DMHOs, who will then forward it to ICMR for validation before it is uploaded to the website. This process will ensure that the data is centrally maintained by both ICMR and the Health Department.

A state-level committee comprising experts from Nizam's Institute of Medical Sciences, MNJ, and the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) has also held discussions with DMHOs to streamline workflows from patient registration to treatment updates and monitoring. The committee also focused on strengthening district cancer centres.