Cancer has emerged as a major public health concern worldwide with about 20 million new patients being added every year. The World Health Organisation has estimated the cancer burden will increase by almost 60% over the next decade, potentially rendering it the second major cause of death. India alone adds approximately 1.4 million new cancer cases every year, with almost 1 in 1,000 Indians being diagnosed annually, per the National Cancer Registry.
Cancer is a disease of the genome. It is caused by changes in genes that cause some cells to divide in an uncontrolled way. These changes can be inherited or acquired. Inherited genetic variants form the basis of many hereditary cancers, including breast and ovarian cancer. Advancements in genomic technologies in the last couple decades, including global initiatives like the Cancer Genome Atlas, have provided a shot in the arm to understand the molecular underpinnings of cancer, which in turn have yielded a new generation of therapies that target molecular defects.
