India releases first national lung cancer care guidelines ahead of World Cancer Day

NEW DELHI: In a major step towards standardising cancer care, the Centre on Tuesday released India’s first nationally developed, evidence-based guidelines for lung cancer treatment and palliation, aimed at improving early diagnosis, reducing treatment gaps and ensuring patient-centric care across the country.Union health minister Jagat Prakash Nadda released the Lung Cancer Treatment and Palliation: Evidence-Based Guidelines at Kartavya Bhavan on the eve of World Cancer Day. The document outlines 15 evidence-based recommendations covering diagnosis, treatment pathways and palliative care, applicable to both public and private healthcare systems.Officials said the guidelines address wide variations in lung cancer care in India, where late diagnosis remains a major challenge and treatment practices differ sharply across regions. By providing a common clinical framework, the guidelines aim to strengthen decision-making, improve outcomes and ensure consistent standards of care.Nadda said India must develop its own context-specific healthcare solutions rather than rely solely on Western clinical models. He stressed that early detection is one of the biggest hurdles in lung cancer management and called for stronger prevention and screening strategies, particularly among high-risk populations.Developed by experts under the Department of Health Research and the Directorate General of Health Services, the guidelines use internationally accepted scientific methods but are tailored to India’s disease burden and healthcare realities. They place equal emphasis on treatment and palliation, focusing on both survival and quality of life.The guidelines are expected to help standardise care across states, improve access to palliative services and reduce disparities between public and private hospitals. A plain-language summary will also be issued to help patients and caregivers better understand treatment options.Senior health officials and experts involved in drafting the guidelines were present at the release.