India’s leading hospitals which are treating brain tumour cases like Tata Memorial, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, Narayana Health City, HCG and Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital are of the view that while advanced surgical interventions are comparable on par with the best in the world, yet the lack of awareness about the condition hinders early detection.

Currently, in India, brain tumours are a major cause of cancer related deaths in children. It is the second highest cause of fatality in children after leukemia. Brain tumours account for about 25 per cent of the paediatric cancers in the country.

“Brain tumours in paediatric population need to be diagnosed early. This is where we see the need for primary care physicians and the parents to have the much-needed awareness to diagnose and report cases respectively. Even small changes in daily habits need to be closely monitored and mandate a doctor’s consultation because this is the only way to ensure early diagnosis and faster access to treatment”, Dr Shibu Vasudevan Pillai, consultant neuro surgeon, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, Narayana Health City told Pharmabiz.

On the occasion of the World Brain Tumour Day observed annually on June 8, early detection is a cause for concern for paediatric neurologists and paediatric oncologists.

While Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre is conducting awareness in schools, Dr Pillai said considerable research is on to develop bio-markers to test for brain tumours with a mere blood test to detect the condition. But this is seen to be presently in the far future. However, we do see this along with specific genetic or DNA markers to bring in targeted treatment option and revolutionize the testing and therapy modalities for brain tumours.

“Right now children are scared and parents upset about the modality of diagnosis and surgical intervention in brain tumours. But the best part is that these brain tumour affected children bounce back to normal life and it is this that is compelling medical experts for simple tests and precise processes to identify and attack cancer cells, without damaging the normal cells in a child,” he added.

However a big advantage for India now is that even small towns have access to advanced diagnostics like the MRI and CT scans and we are seeing increasing number of paediatric cases with brain tumour primarily because these scans enable faster pick up of the abnormalities, said Dr Pillai.

Moreover surgical technologies are far advanced too as brain tumours are removed by GPS neuro navigation systems. There are highly sophisticated equipment to handle the thin skull texture in paediatric patients. In addition, better intraoperative techniques providing image of brain along with electrodes enable mapping of the skull. All these enhance the outcomes in a positive manner, stated Dr Pillai.

Airing similar views was Dr D K Sreepathi, paediatric consultant, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital, Bengaluru who said that MRIs and CTs provide around 80 per cent of the diagnosis. “Primary manifestations of eyes being affected by brain tumour incidence is far fewer. This is because in brain tumors eyes are not first site of being affected by this condition,” he said.