EAT LESS; BURN MORE

Conversations on oncology, obesity and non-communicable diseases dominated THE WEEK Health Summit 2025

- BY MATHEW T. GEORGE/NEW DELHI

The spotlight was on breast cancer at THE WEEK Health Summit Premier, an exclusive and invitation-only event at The Oberoi, New Delhi, on November 14.

The star of the evening was Dr G. Thomas Budd, principal investigator of the phase I clinical trial of a vaccine being developed by Cleveland Clinic and Anixa Biosciences.

While Dr Jame Abraham set the stage by sketching out the work done by Cleveland Clinic in oncology, Dr Sapna Nangia put the vaccine and Budd's work in context for the Indian audience. Abraham is chair of the department of haematology and medical oncology at the Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, and Nangia is the director of head & neck and breast cancer at Apollo Proton Cancer Centre, Chennai, the first such centre in south Asia and the Middle East.

The vaccine being pushed by Cleveland Clinic targets triple-negative breast cancer, an aggressive cancer that lacks receptors targeted in hormone therapy, which makes it more challenging to treat. “In Italy, the UK, or Germany, about 10 per cent of (breast cancers) are triple negative. In India, that number is more than 25 per cent,” said Nangia.