IIT Madras Launches Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas to Advance Cancer Research in India

Chennai: In a significant step toward transforming cancer research in India, IIT Madras has launched the Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas (BCGA), the country’s first cancer genome database.

This publicly accessible resource aims to bridge the gap in genomic data for Indian cancers, enabling early detection, targeted therapies, and improved treatment outcomes.

The initiative, launched ahead of World Cancer Day (February 4, 2025), comes in response to alarming statistics from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which reports a steady rise in cancer cases.

The National Cancer Registry Program estimates that one in nine Indians will develop cancer in their lifetime, with 14,61,427 people currently living with the disease. Since 2022, cancer incidence in India has risen by 12.8% annually.

Despite the high burden of cancer, India remains underrepresented in global cancer genome studies. The absence of comprehensive genomic data has hindered the development of diagnostic tools and targeted drug therapies for Indian patients.

To address this, IIT Madras initiated the Cancer Genome Program in 2020, completing 960 whole exome sequencing from 480 breast cancer patient tissue samples collected across the country.

Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, announced the completion of the Indian breast cancer genome sequence and released the Bharat Cancer Genome Atlas (BCGA) on campus. “True to our ‘IITM for All’ commitment to society, we are releasing yet another health-related dataset—the Cancer Genome data—after the Brain Data earlier this academic year. We hope this provides deep insights into the causes of this deadly disease and helps in its prevention through early interventions. The Atlas fills the gap in the genomic landscape of cancers in India and offers a compendium of genetic variants representing the contemporary Indian breast cancer population to classify variants involved in early diagnostics, disease progression, and treatment outcomes.”

The research was spearheaded by the Centre of Excellence on Cancer Genomics and Molecular Therapeutics at IIT Madras, under the Government of India’s Institutions of Eminence initiative.

Prof. S. Mahalingam, Head of the Centre and Project Coordinator, highlighted the significance of BCGA: “This database will be an invaluable resource for identifying cancer-specific biomarkers in India, enabling early detection of breast cancer. It will also help identify novel drug targets for developing better treatment strategies specific to the Indian population.”

Further elaborating, Prof. Mahalingam added, “BCGA also aims to host data from researchers working on cancer genomics across different cancer types. The data will be utilized to identify biomarkers for high-risk groups, monitor cancer progression, design personalized treatment strategies, and assess treatment outcomes.”

The launch of this database is expected to shift India’s healthcare approach toward personalized medicine, where an individual’s genetic and molecular information is integrated into clinical decision-making to enhance treatment efficacy.

The analysis was conducted under the National Centre for Precision Medicine in Cancer, a joint initiative between IIT Madras and Karkinos Healthcare, aimed at advancing interdisciplinary research and affordable cancer care solutions.

The Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, supported the project through the Cancer Tissue Biobank facility at IIT Madras.

The BCGA database is now publicly accessible at bcga.iitm.ac.in for researchers and clinicians in India and abroad.