Shining the spotlight on the Big C

Discover alarming trends and hopeful advances in cancer, predatory journals, and India's diagnostics sector in this insightful collection.

On alarming trends and hopeful advances in cancer, predatory journals and the academic rat race, the need to regulate India’s massive diagnostics sector, and more

With World Cancer day falling on the fourth of February, it was an occasion for us to march out the cavalry to report on cancer, and we are not done yet. There will be other stories throughout this month, keep your eyes peeled for them. The World Cancer Day campaign 2025-27, “United by Unique”, places people at the centre of care and will explore new ways of making a difference. It offers a three-year journey from raising awareness to taking action, as per the Cancer Day website. With a vast array of changing lifestyles, the impacts of which are still unclear, or are being studied, it is clear that the further away we move from diets and environments that are familiar to our genes, there are chances that things can go wrong, apart from pollution and environment-related, anthropocentric factors. We try to uncover both alarming trends and hopeful advances in the field over the month.

Vid Karmarkar, Parth Sharma in their piece on The financial toxicity of cancer care in India write about how, faced with exorbitant costs, many cancer patients in India find themselves at a crossroads between their health and their financial stability. A poignant account reveals the harsh realities of financial toxicity in cancer care, raising critical questions: How can we make advanced treatments accessible to all?

A recent study from Hyderabad reveals troubling statistics about breast cancer incidence rates in the city, outpacing other major metropolitan areas. What does this mean for future cancer prevention strategies, and how can communities mobilise resources to combat this alarming trend? To learn more read Siddharth Kumar Singh’ s article In India, breast cancer incidence is highest in Hyderabad, reveals study

A groundbreaking initiative by IIT Madras aims to propel cancer research forward in India with a new public access cancer genome database. Perhaps this could this be the key to unlocking personalised medicine for Indian patients and revolutionising cancer care across the nation. Read IIT Madras launches public access cancer genome database to help cancer research, drug discovery, in India for more information on this.

Dr. Nidhi Tandon weighs in on the impact of the sun on the skin. As summer approaches, it’s crucial to understand how sunshine affects our skin health. She delves into the science of UV radiation and its long-term effects: it is possible that using sunscreen daily can prevent potential skin cancers that are silently creeping up on us. For more, read here.

This week we have rolled out a couple of stories on the harm that unregulated scientific publications in journals might have, far more than imagined. Frederik Joelving, Cyril Labbé, Guillaume Cabanac make the case that Bogus scientific papers slowing lifesaving medical research. Over the past decade, the emergence of paper mills producing fake scientific research has sparked alarm in the academic world. These fraudulent publications not only mislead researchers but also endanger the very foundation of medical advancements.