According to the data by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India is projected to have 17.3 lakh new cases of cancer by 2020 and over 8.8 lakh patients are expected to die from the disease. Breast cancer which has the highest incidence of all cancers in females has also become frequent in a population younger than 50 years. At times, breast/ovarian cancer occur due to inherited genetic mutations (this is called Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer syndrome).

A symposium was organized at Hotel Park Ascent in Noida by Strand Life Sciences to bring together domain experts from gynaecology and IVF to discuss this trend of higher incidence of breast and ovarian cancer and associated screening for early diagnosis. Dr. Ramesh Hariharan, CEO of Strand Life Sciences, was present at this occasion and shared Strand's capabilities as a diagnostic lab to screen such cancers. With the acquisition of Quest Diagnostics' India business, Strand is now better placed to cater to the North Indian market as well. He added, "We bring cutting-edge diagnostics to India with world class quality at affordable prices. This will help us all in our fight against cancer."

Dr. Pooja Agrawal, from Strand Life Sciences, shared that the incidence of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer is much higher in India as compared to western countries and cited data from an original research paper from Strand along with cancer cases where Strand could help patients. Dr. Agrawal said, "It is not only important but also critical that early screening of cancer, which is cost-effective and comprehensive, should be adopted by the healthcare industry in India to reduce the high mortality rate in patients."

The discussion was followed by a panel discussion on the topic 'Building synergy to screen early cancer in India'. The panel comprised of experts like Dr. Sushma Dikhit (Max hospital Vaishali), Dr. Anjana Singh (Fortis Hospital Noida), and Dr. Smita Jain (Neo IVF, Indirapuram). The symposium concluded with a final thought that we need more awareness and screening to help reduce the incidence of the breast and ovarian cancer.