The Cancer Institute

31 January, 2004 marked the much anticipated inauguration of the Cancer Institute at Amrita Institute of Medical Science and Research Centre, Kochi, Kerala

The Cancer Institute is dedicated to providing fully integrated, multidisciplinary cancer treatment under one roof with state-of-the-art technology, having assembled a wide range of experts in all disciplines related to cancer, from various parts of the country and abroad, to form an integrated team to treat the disease.

The strength of the Institute lies in its ability to offer all treatment modalities under one roof. Patients will be seen and evaluated in multi-modality clinics such as Head and Neck, Breast and Gynaecology by a team of specialists in each malignancy. Treatment decisions are then made in multidisciplinary tumour boards where these specialists sit together and discuss the plan of treatment. The emphasis is on combining all modalities

of treatment needed in the right combination to achieve the best results while minimizing side effects. To facilitate multidisciplinary care of cancer patients, the Institute is organized under the following services:

The Radiation Oncology Department is composed of a dedicated team of Radiation Oncologists, Medical Physicists, Dosimetrists and Technologists for diagnosis, treatment planning, precise execution of the radiation therapy and on-going patient management. The Department is equipped with a full range of state-of-the-art radiation therapy equipment, computer planning systems and quality assurance technology.

� Linear Accelerators with Multileaf Collimation, and Electronic Portal Imaging for real time quality assurance of the region receiving radiation. Each accelerator is equipped with three photon and a full set of electron energy beams.

� Computerized treatment planning system with CT/MRI/PET fusion and virtual fluoroscopy. This comprehensive system allows for both CT- based 3-Dimensional and Intensity Modulated Radiation Treatment (IMRT) planning.

� CT simulator with a moveable lasers system for precise patient set up.

� High dose rate (HDR) Brachytherapy Afterloader together with a CT/MRI based treatment planning system for intraluminal, interstitial and intracavitary brachytherapy of a variety of disease sites including Head and Neck, Lung, Esophagus, Cervix and Breast.

The Medical Physics Department provides support for treatment of all patients, monitors accurate delivery of all treatments, and maintains all radiation producing and radiation measuring equipment in proper calibration. This division ensures strict quality control and radiation safety in all procedures. The Medical Physics Division will also offer training programmes in Medical Physics, Medical Radiation Dosimetry and Radiation Therapy Technology. Programmes leading to Ph.D in Medical Physics are being planned for the near future.

The head of the Cancer Institute is Padmashree Dr. M. Krishnan Nair, MD, FRCR (ClinicalOncology U.K.), Professor of Clinical Oncology. As the Founder/Director of Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Krishnan Nair is an expert in Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology. He was a member of the Core Committee that formulated the cancer control programme for India in 1984, and was Chairman of the World Health Organization National Cancer Control Conference in November 2000, in Geneva, Switzerland.

Dr. Nair also implemented the 10-Year Action Plan for Cancer Control in Kerala (1989-1998), which also consisted of programmes for primary prevention, early detection and palliative care in a statewide fashion.