Vijayawada: A comprehensive genetic analysis centre will be set up at the proposed Quantum Valley in Amaravati to identify genetic causes associated with rare diseases, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav said.
The minister inaugurated a genome sequencing centre at the government hospital in Guntur on Tuesday. He said the proposed facility at Quantum Valley would enable the expansion of advanced genetic testing and research and help in systematically collecting genetic information related to cancer and rare diseases.
The minister stressed the need for early detection and timely treatment of cancer. He said free screening was being conducted for oral, breast and cervical cancers. Of the targeted 4.27 crore population, nearly 2.65 crore people had been screened so far, with around 7,500 new cancer cases detected. Suspected cases were being referred for further diagnostic tests, he said.
Satya Kumar Yadav said more than 70,000 new cancer cases were being reported in the state every year and nearly 40,000 people were dying of cancer annually. He said cancer accounted for 9.6 per cent of all deaths in the state and that new cancer cases had increased by 39.5 per cent between 2020 and 2025.
Four comprehensive cancer centres have been set up in Guntur, Visakhapatnam, Kurnool and Kadapa at a cost of Rs. 311 crore in the first phase, the minister said. A total of 596 posts for doctors and other staff had been sanctioned and filled at these centres.
Cancer centres would be set up in Kakinada and Anantapur in the second phase, while 11 more medical college hospitals would be developed as cancer centres in the third phase, he said.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
