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Cumulatively, breast, cervical, ovarian, and uterine cancer account for more than 70% of cancers in women in India. Distinct differences in the clinical presentation of women with cancer suggest underlying differences in cancer biology and genetics. The peak age of onset of breast and ovarian cancer appears to be a decade earlier in India (age 45-50 years) than in high-income countries (age >60 years). Understanding these differences through research to develop diagnosis, screening, prevention, and treatment frameworks that ar e specific to the Indian population are critical and essential to improving women's health in India. Since the sequencing of the human genome in 2001, applications of advanced technologies, such as massively parallel sequencing, have transformed the understanding of the genetic and environmental drivers of cancer. How can advanced technologies be harnessed to provide health-care solutions at a scale and to a budget suitable for a country of 1·2 billion people? What research programmes are necessary to answer questions specific to India, and to build capacity for innovative solutions using these technologies? In order to answer these questions, we convened a workshop with key stakeholders to address these issues. In this Series paper, we highlight challenges in tackling the growing cancer burden in India, discuss ongoing genomics research and developments in infrastructure, and suggest key priorities for future research in cancer in India. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the last few decades genomics has completely reshaped the way in which patients and physicians experience and make sense of illness. In this paper we build upon a real case – namely that of breast cancer genetic testing – in order to point to the shortcomings of the paradigm currently driving healthcare delivery. In particular, we put forward a viable analytical model for the construction of a proper decisional process broadening the scope of medical gaze onto human experience of illness. This model revolves around four main conceptual axes: (i) communicating information; (ii) informing decisions; (iii) respecting narratives; (iv) empowering decision-making. These four kernels, we argue, map precisely onto the main pitfalls of the model presently dealing with genetic testing provision. Medical Humanities, we conclude, ought to play a pivotal role in constructing the environment for competent decision-making, autonomous self-determination and respectful narritivization of one''s own life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]