Chennai: Rela Hospital, a Multi-Speciality Quaternary Care Hospital at Chrompet in Chennai launched the "Centre of Excellence for Neuroendocrine Tumors" to provide the highest standard of care and expertise to patients with Neuroendocrine Tumours in India.
The center was inaugurated by Noble Laureate, Prof Ada E.Yonath, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009 for her pioneering discoveries on the structure and function of ribosomes -- the protein synthesizers in cells, other renowned researchers and scientists -- in the presence of Dr Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy, the CEO of the Rela Hospital.
Neuroendocrine tumors are cancers that begin in specialized cells called neuroendocrine cells. These cells have traits similar to those of nerve cells and hormone-producing cells. A neuroendocrine tumor can start in almost any organ throughout the body, and it most commonly occurs in the gastrointestinal or GI tract, as well as the lungs and pancreas, appendix, small intestine, and rectum. Diagnosis and treatment of neuroendocrine tumors depend on the type of tumor, its location, whether it produces excess hormones, how aggressive it is, and whether it has spread to other parts of the body.
The center of excellence will have experts from oncology, pathology, radiology, nuclear medicine, endocrinology, surgery, gastroenterology, and nursing to enhance patient care. Dr Ilankumaran Kaliamoorthy, CEO of Rela Hospital said, "We are extremely happy and honored to have this center launched by Prof. Ada. We at Rela Hospital, developing this new specialty or center of excellence to address this very rare tumor. With the help of the highly skilled Oncology team and a strong infrastructure, we thought this was the best time to launch this specialty center and offer treatment to those suffering from this rare disease.
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"Dr C.S Mani, Senior Consultant- Surgical Oncology, Rela Hospital said, "Neuroendocrine is a special group of cells which is scattered all over the body from head to foot. Although they are present for a specific purpose, they can unusually give rise to cancer of different types. On one end of the spectrum, it could sit and do nothing and on the other end, it could be fatal. In recent times there has been an increase in the recognition of the tumor. A few renowned celebrities like Steve Jobs, Irfan Khan, and Aretha Franklin were affected by this tumor. It is also increasing in incidence all over the world compared to last 10 to 15 years."
"Because of a wide variety of spectrum of this tumor, we thought it's high time that we give an additional impetus to the study of this tumor as well as prepare ourselves to the fundamental research on this rare type of cancer," added Dr C S Mani. Prof Ada.E Yonath mentioned "I am very delighted to be here for the launch of this Neuroendocrine Tumor Centre at Rela Hospital. With the expertise and knowledge of the team of oncologists here e, I am confident that patients with this life-threatening cancer will get the best treatment." This story has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content in this article. (With agency inputs)