Genetic screening for cancer is one of the best methods of identifying the genetic factors that promote the growth of cancer. Most of the population suffers from genetic disorders at some time in their lives. These genetic disorders are either chronic or genetic in nature and therefore, have a very long lifecycle. Some of these genetic disorders include cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia and hereditary angioedema. Most of these genetic disorders can be detected by genetic screening conducted on a person.
Genetic screening in India can help identify such genetic disorders and can also help to find out if one has a pre-cancerous condition or not. This helps in early diagnosis of cancer in its initial stages. It also helps in reducing the mortality rate of cancer patients.
In India, genetic screening for cancer is prevalent in almost all the states. The states with high literacy levels, more medical facilities and more population reach a higher stage of genetic screening for cancer. Thus, cancer is easily detected in this country. In most of the states genetic testing for cancer has become quite routine.
There are many reasons due to which genetic testing for cancer is very common in India. The first one is that almost all the population of India is genetically predisposed to suffer from genetic disorders. Thus, it becomes very easy to screen for genetic disorders in this country. Another reason is that almost all of the population of India has been subjected to migration. And most of them have migrated to different parts of the country resulting in increase in the genetic diversity of the Indian population.
Genetic abnormalities are frequent in the Indian population and the number of genetic disorders is on the rise. So genetic screening for cancer is very necessary in the recent times. These genetic disorders can lead to various cancers. But, still the number of people suffering from cancer is not very high in India. This difference may be because of genetic differences between Indians and non-Indians.
The percentage of genetic testing cost in India is quite low when compared to western countries. The government of India has taken various steps to improve its genetic health records system so that the data of genetic disorders are well maintained. The cost of genetic testing test is also much lower in India than in other countries. This is probably due to lack of awareness about genetic disorders in the country.
There is lot of awareness in the country regarding genetic testing. The main reason is probably that television advertisements were not very successful in convincing people that genetic testing is important. TV advertisements only showed dead and deformed bodies. And then the phrase “Genetic disorders are inevitable” was shown.
But, now after seeing several successful television advertisements, people are becoming aware of genetic problems and so they are seeking help from genetic counselors. They go for genetic testing for various genetic disorders. It is a lucrative business in India. It is estimated that there are more than 20 million DNA experts in India. It is the rising trend of genetic engineering which is also increasing the scope of genetic screening in India.
