NewsBytes

Uterine cancer represents a significant and growing global health challenge, experts said as they called upon governments and multilateral institutions to explicitly integrate it into global and national non-communicable diseases and women's health efforts. A global position statement on endometrial cancer released on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York last month by the International Gynaecologic Cancer Society (IGCS) stated that uterine cancer is the second most common type of the five gynaecological cancers, yet it remains absent from global health priorities. Unlike cervical or ovarian cancer, uterine cancer has not benefited from widespread public awareness, political attention or coordinated efforts to improve prevention, diagnosis and care, according to the report titled "Global Call to Action: Reducing Disparities in Uterine Cancer Care".

Country's largest equity bourse NSE on Sunday announced that it will spend Rs 380 crore to build a facility to help in cancer treatment at Tata Memorial Hospital. The 11-storey NSE multi-speciality hospital block and bone marrow transplant (BMT) centre will come up at TMC-run ACTREC in the satellite city of Navi Mumbai. Groundbreaking for the facility being constructed by L&T was conducted on Sunday, an official statement said, adding that the BMT centre will be the largest of such facilities in the country. The facility is projected to serve approximately 1.3 lakh out patients department (OPD) visits every year, conduct over 600 BMT procedures in a year and also have 60 beds. The project being funded through NSE's corporate social responsibility efforts has a built up area of 2.4 lakh sq ft and is likely to commence operations by July 2027, it said.

In a boost to India's fight against tuberculosis, apex health research body ICMR has validated new indigenously developed tools that could bolster the country's diagnostic capacity and offer a cheaper detection option. Eliminating tuberculosis (TB) depends crucially on the ability to detect early, accurately, and universally, to initiate patients on treatment and curb community transmission. Among the recently validated tools is Quantiplus MTB FAST detection kit, developed by Huwel Lifesciences in Telangana, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) said in a note. Quantiplus is the first open system RT-PCR assay validated for the detection of lung TB as it can run on any existing PCR machine and is not limited to proprietary platforms. Furthermore, Quantiplus can test as many as 96 samples simultaneously. Detecting TB in adults via sputum samples, this innovation not only enhances capacity but stands to make a dramatic difference in costs and estimates suggest it could reduce the price of TB testing by as much as one-fifth, the source said.

Union Health Minister J P Nadda said said 6.5 crore women have been screened through nearly 18 lakh health camps across the country under the 'Swasth Nari, Sashakt Parivar' campaign. Terming it a "historic milestone", Nadda said the campaign reflects the nation's collective resolve to prioritise women's health for stronger families and thriving communities. In a post on X, Nadda said, "Launched on September 17 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the two-week-long #SwasthNariSashaktParivar Abhiyaan concluded on 2nd October after achieving historic milestones of screening 6 crore 50 lakh women, through nearly 18 lakh health camps organised across the country." Nadda called for continuing the momentum by encouraging every woman to prioritise her well-being, adopt regular health check-ups, and lead the way towards a healthier, empowered future. Prime Minister Modi too lauded the development. The health ministry on Friday said more than 1.78 crore citizens were screened for hypertension and 1.72 crore for diabetes during the campaign. More than 37 lakh women were screened for breast cancer, and over 19 lakh for cervical cancer. Oral cancer screening covered more than 69 lakh people.