Ahead of World Cancer Day on Sunday, biotechnology major Biocon's Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw on Saturday joined hands with medical experts from across India to form an independent body to fight oral cancer.
Biocon is India's largest biopharmaceutical company.
Apart from Shaw, the body includes experts like G.K. Rath, the chief of Dr B.R. Ambedkar Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, New Delhi; Pankaj Chaturvedi, cancer surgeon at Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital; Praveen Birur N., the oral cancer programme head at Biocon Foundation and three others.
Stressing that the treatment of oral cancer requires a multidisciplinary approach, Shaw said it involves the combined efforts of dental practitioners, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists and researchers.
"The Oral Cancer Task Force is created to ideate, educate and engage people in order to effectively reduce oral cancer in the next decade," the Biocon chief said.
The body of experts aims to synchronise oral cancer control efforts with a national cancer control programme, create a master plan leveraging technology and partnerships and enhance the skills of healthcare professionals in India.
It also aims to work towards creating an environment in the country that reduces oral cancer risk factors like tobacco, alcohol and others, through policy change and public awareness, while also providing benchmarks for research on oral cancer.
Oral cancer is said to one of the most common forms of cancer occurring among Indian men.
