83% of cancer patients in India not on right treatment path, finds study

A study by an online cancer care platform, Onco.com, has come up with startling findings about the treatment being given to cancer patients in India. It found that over 15 per cent of patients were getting completely wrong treatment, while 27 per cent were not being given the right chemotherapy drugs, and 41 per cent did not undergo complete tests. As per the study, only 17 per cent of patients were on the right treatment path as per international scientific guidelines. In other words, a whopping 83 per cent patients were getting mistreated.

Rashie Jain, Cofounder & CEO, Onco.com said, “The purpose of the study, conducted across a six-month period was to understand the adherence to international treatment protocols for cancer patients who undergo cancer treatment in India. It covered 365 patients who took online second opinion from Onco’s multi-disciplinary tumor board regarding their treatment. About 80 per cent of these hailed from India, 10 per cent from Africa, and 5 per cent each from Bangladesh and the Middle-East.”

In developing nations like India, patients don't get access to multi-disciplinary care. Dr Amit Jotwani, Cofounder of Onco.com and oncologist said, “Our study has shown that taking second opinion in the form of multi-disciplinary review by a team of doctors from three specialties – surgical, medical and radiation oncology – can dramatically improve outcomes for cancer patients. Such a review provides much-needed validation and correction in a patient’s treatment plan, thus preventing mistreatment and unnecessary treatment and optimizing costs.”

Mistreatment in medical terminology is defined as deviation from the standard treatment protocol. It does not necessarily mean wrong treatment, but that the patient is not getting the best available treatment.

Dr Amit Jotwani said, “Considering the findings of the study, our advice to cancer patients in India would be to always seek multi-disciplinary opinion. They should be fully informed about their disease and the best treatment available for them before they start the treatment. It is important that they empower themselves and seek multiple opinions, if required, to validate their treatment. They should not just go with word of mouth, but always get advice from credible sources for their treatment plan.”