ESTABLISH THE NAVAKARNATAKA STATE CANCER INSTITUTE (NKSCI)
A Public Appeal for an Integrated, Accountable and Statewide Cancer-Care System for Karnataka
To:
The Hon’ble Chief Minister, Government of Karnataka
The Hon’ble Minister for Medical Education, Government of Karnataka
The Additional Chief Secretary, Medical Education Department, Government of Karnataka
The Government of Karnataka

 
OUR APPEAL
We, the citizens, patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals and well-wishers of Karnataka, respectfully request the Government of Karnataka to consider establishing the NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute (NKSCI) through appropriate legislation as an autonomous statutory State Cancer Institute.

The proposed NKSCI should bring together cancer prevention, early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation, palliative care, education, research, quality, innovation and population-level cancer control within an integrated statewide framework.

This proposal is not merely about creating another institution.

It is about building one coordinated cancer-care system for Karnataka.

 
WHY KARNATAKA NEEDS NKSCI
Cancer care requires far more than hospitals and equipment. It requires an organised system connecting prevention, screening, diagnostics, treatment, referral, education, research, quality assurance, survivorship and palliative care.

Karnataka already possesses considerable public-sector clinical expertise, medical colleges, healthcare infrastructure and institutional experience.

The next opportunity is to connect these strengths through a statewide hub-and-spoke cancer network with defined governance, referral pathways, quality standards and accountability.

The proposed NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute (NKSCI) can provide this institutional framework.

 
KMIO SHOULD REMAIN THE PRINCIPAL COMPREHENSIVE CANCER CENTRE
The Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO), Bengaluru, has served generations of patients and has accumulated substantial clinical, academic and institutional expertise in oncology.

Under the proposed NKSCI framework, KMIO should retain its historic identity and clinical importance while functioning as the:

Principal Comprehensive Cancer Centre of NKSCI
The intention is therefore not to erase KMIO's identity or legacy.

Rather, its accumulated expertise should become the foundation for strengthening cancer services throughout Karnataka.

 
A STATEWIDE HUB-AND-SPOKE CANCER NETWORK
NKSCI should progressively develop an integrated network consisting of:

Principal Comprehensive Cancer Centre (PCCC)
↓
Regional Cancer Centres (RCCs)
↓
Peripheral Cancer Centres (PCCs)
↓
Oncology Blocks / Oncology Wings in Government Medical Colleges
↓
District and peripheral healthcare systems linked through referral, screening, follow-up and supportive-care pathways

Patients should increasingly be able to receive appropriate components of cancer care nearer their homes while complex and highly specialised services remain concentrated at appropriate referral centres.

The objective should be:

Right Cancer Care • Right Level • Right Place • Right Time
 
LOCAL IDENTITY WITH A COMMON STATEWIDE MISSION
Karnataka's districts and regions have their own histories, cultures and distinguished personalities.

Accordingly, individual Regional Cancer Centres, Peripheral Cancer Centres, Oncology Blocks and Oncology Wings may be named according to locally relevant personalities, freedom fighters, social reformers, physicians, scientists, philanthropists or other appropriate figures of recognised significance, following transparent governmental procedures.

They would nevertheless remain part of the common:

NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute — NKSCI Network
This approach can combine local identity with statewide institutional unity.

 
NKSCI SHOULD BE MORE THAN A NETWORK OF HOSPITALS
A modern State Cancer Institute should integrate clinical care with the systems required to continuously improve that care.

The proposed NKSCI should therefore have clearly defined functional domains covering:

Administration and Governance

Cancer Clinical Services and Statewide Referral Systems

Academics and Human Resource Development

Cancer Research

Quality, Patient Safety and Regulatory Compliance

Innovation and Technology Development

Cancer Prevention and Public Health

Cancer Registry, Data Science and Outcomes Monitoring

Digital Health and Tele-Oncology

CSR Facilitation and Resource Mobilisation

Public-Public Institutional Collaboration

The objective should be to build an institution capable not only of treating cancer, but also of continuously learning, measuring, improving and disseminating better cancer care throughout Karnataka.

 
QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY MUST BE BUILT INTO THE SYSTEM
Expansion of cancer services must be accompanied by strong mechanisms for quality assurance and patient safety.

NKSCI should institutionalise measurable systems for:

patient safety;

infection prevention and control;

medication safety;

chemotherapy safety;

radiation safety;

blood and transfusion safety;

clinical audits;

mortality and morbidity review;

patient experience;

outcome measurement;

quality indicators;

NQAS and other applicable national quality frameworks;

hospital accreditation;

continuous quality improvement; and

transparent institutional accountability.

Quality should not remain an accreditation exercise undertaken periodically.

It should become part of the everyday governance of cancer care.

 
ACADEMICS AND HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Karnataka's cancer-care system will ultimately depend upon trained people.

NKSCI should facilitate structured education and capacity building in medical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, paediatric oncology, pathology, radiology, nuclear medicine, oncology nursing, psycho-oncology, palliative care, rehabilitation, cancer epidemiology, quality and patient safety, hospital administration, clinical research and allied disciplines.

The statewide network can also create opportunities for training, rotations, mentorship and knowledge transfer between the principal centre, regional centres and peripheral institutions.

 
RESEARCH SHOULD ADDRESS KARNATAKA'S CANCER PROBLEMS
A State Cancer Institute should generate knowledge relevant to the population it serves.

NKSCI should facilitate multicentre clinical and public-health research across its network, including research into:

cancer epidemiology;

prevention and screening;

treatment outcomes;

childhood cancers;

treatment toxicity;

survivorship;

palliative care;

health economics;

access to cancer care;

quality improvement;

implementation science;

digital oncology; and

locally relevant cancer-control strategies.

The statewide network can progressively become an important platform for population-based and multicentre cancer research.

 
CANCER DATA SHOULD DRIVE CANCER POLICY
A modern cancer system must know not merely how many patients it treats, but what happens to them.

NKSCI should progressively develop integrated cancer information systems capable of monitoring:

incidence;

stage at diagnosis;

treatment initiation;

treatment abandonment;

treatment completion;

toxicity;

survival;

mortality;

patient-reported outcomes;

geographical access; and

institutional performance.

Such information can help Government allocate resources according to demonstrated population needs and measured outcomes.

 
PREVENTION MUST BE AS IMPORTANT AS TREATMENT
The long-term objective of NKSCI should extend beyond treating patients who reach cancer hospitals.

The Institute should support statewide programmes for:

cancer awareness;

tobacco control;

risk reduction;

screening;

early detection;

community engagement;

referral;

follow-up; and

cancer survivorship.

A State Cancer Institute should therefore connect the hospital with the community.

 
GOVERNANCE THROUGH A STATUTORY FRAMEWORK
For a statewide cancer institution to survive changes in individual office-holders and administrative arrangements, its responsibilities, governance and accountability should have appropriate statutory backing.

We therefore request consideration of a:

NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute Act
The legislation may define the Institute's governance, powers, functions, constituent institutions, statewide network, financial accountability, academic and research responsibilities, quality systems, human-resource framework and relationship with Government.

The proposed legislation should also protect continuity of legitimate employee rights, patient services, academic programmes, research activities, records, assets, liabilities and existing institutional responsibilities during any organisational transition.

 
INTEGRATION, NOT DUPLICATION
NKSCI should wherever feasible utilise and strengthen existing public infrastructure rather than unnecessarily duplicate institutions.

Existing Government Medical Colleges, cancer facilities and other public institutions can become interconnected components of the network according to their capabilities.

This can allow Karnataka to progressively develop a stronger cancer system through coordination, standardisation and rational expansion of existing public resources.

 
A LONG-TERM VISION
The immediate objective is a functional and accountable statewide cancer-care network.

Over time, NKSCI should aspire to become:

a State Cancer Knowledge Hub;

a centre for advanced oncology education and research;

a platform for multicentre cancer research;

a leader in cancer quality and patient safety;

a centre for innovation and implementation science; and ultimately

one of India's national benchmarking institutions for oncology outcomes.
The success of NKSCI should ultimately be measured not by the number of buildings created, but by improvements in access, safety, treatment completion, survival, patient experience and population cancer outcomes.

 
OUR REQUEST TO THE GOVERNMENT OF KARNATAKA
We respectfully request the Government of Karnataka to:

Constitute an appropriate expert committee to examine the proposal for establishment of the NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute (NKSCI).
Develop a detailed institutional and financial framework for a statewide hub-and-spoke cancer-care network.
Recognise KMIO, Bengaluru, as the Principal Comprehensive Cancer Centre within the proposed network while preserving its institutional legacy.
Map existing and proposed Regional Cancer Centres, Peripheral Cancer Centres and Government Medical College Oncology Blocks/Wings across Karnataka.
Establish appropriate mechanisms for statewide referral, academics, research, cancer prevention, quality and patient safety, digital health and outcome monitoring.
Permit appropriate local-relevance naming of individual RCCs, PCCs, Oncology Blocks and Oncology Wings, while retaining their common NKSCI network identity.
Undertake stakeholder consultation involving patients, caregivers, cancer specialists, healthcare professionals, public-health experts, academic institutions and Government departments.
Prepare and place before the competent authorities a NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute Bill after appropriate administrative, financial and legal examination.
 
WHY WE ARE SIGNING
We are signing because cancer should not become more difficult to treat merely because a patient lives far from a major cancer centre.

We are signing because Karnataka's existing cancer expertise can be connected and strengthened rather than allowed to function as isolated islands.

We are signing because prevention, treatment, research, education, quality and patient safety should form parts of one cancer-control system.

We are signing because public institutions become stronger when their responsibilities are supported by continuity, transparency and accountability.

And above all,

we are signing for every person and every family in Karnataka who may one day hear the words: “You have cancer.”
Their journey should begin within an organised system capable of guiding them from suspicion and diagnosis through treatment, rehabilitation, survivorship or palliative care.

 
ONE STATE • ONE NETWORK • ONE SHARED PURPOSE
NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute (NKSCI)
An Integrated Statewide Cancer-Care, Knowledge, Research, Quality and Public-Health Network for Karnataka
We respectfully urge the Government of Karnataka to initiate an expert, consultative and legislative process to examine and establish the NavaKarnataka State Cancer Institute.