Medical Oncology

The Ruby Hall Clinic has established itself as a “comprehensive cancer care” provider by combining all cancer treatment facilities under one roof. It is considered one of the best cancer hospitals in Pune.

Along with support services like a Medical Social Works Department, conference room, pharmacy, radiation room, medical room, and surgical oncology departments, the facility also houses a research centre, an ultra-modern laboratory, and diagnostic facilities.
The bone marrow transplant unit in the hospital is at par with any other reputable centre and is performing exceptionally.

Medical Oncology is the science of treating and curing Cancer with anticancer drugs. Anticancer drugs are of various types like chemotherapy, hormonal therapy, immunotherapy, targeted monoclonal antibodies etc. These act on the Cancer cells to either kill them directly or indirectly. A combined treatment using anticancer drugs along with surgery and/or radiotherapy achieves a greater therapeutic effect.

Ruby Hall Cancer Centre has become one of the leading Centers in western India for detection, diagnosis, treatment and multidisciplinary management of Cancer.

Ruby Hall Cancer Center goes well beyond providing top quality patient care – health education and disease preventoin too are important focus areas for the clinic.

Ruby Hall Cancer Centre has become one of the leading Centers in western India for detection, diagnosis, treatment and multidisciplinary management of Cancer.

Ruby Hall Cancer Center goes well beyond providing top quality patient care – health education and disease preventoin too are important focus areas for the clinic.

PERSONALISED CHEMOTHERAPY

Taking a shift from the regular procedures of giving chemotherapy and general drug treatment to any Cancer patient, the high end therapeutic method is the next level of treating Cancer with more personalised drugs. With the help of various investigations, this trend of high end therapeutics that includes various diagnostic tests, and profiling, gives an indication as to whether a particular drug will be beneficial in treating Cancer for a patient and how the body of the particular patient will respond when that drug is administered. This kind of treatment is more focused and personalised and is more valuable in combating Cancer and helping the patient to conquer it more effectively and efficiently.

MOLECULAR PROFILING

The Oncology specialists at Ruby Hall Clinic conduct Molecular Profiling and Genetic Profiling using high end therapeutic techniques. Under Molecular Profiling, the Cancer tissue sample collected for biopsy or the patient’s blood sample undergoes molecular biology tests which predict the patient’s chance of responding to Cancer drugs when administered for treatment. Accordingly the treatment is customised to the needs of the patient.

GENETIC PROFILING

In Genetic Profiling the gene mutation of the cancerous cells are checked to predict whether the patient can respond to a particular drug or not. The genes of the patient will help in judging the effectiveness of a method of appropriate Cancer treatment.

We use this protocol to treat the various types of Cancers such as

Lung Cancer
Colon Cancer
Breast Cancer
Lymphomas
Leukaemia
Head and Neck Cancer

CHEMOTHERAPY WARDS

We understand that undergoing chemotherapy is not easy for a patient, given its side effects. Chemotherapy is administered at dedicated short stay Chemotherapy wards with strict protocols of infection control and a warm and cheery ambience, as well as specially trained nursing staff. The mission of the Cancer Medicine is to eliminate Cancer and allied diseases through integrated programs in patient care, research, education, and prevention. The division is striving to realize this mission every year, as we build strong partnerships with other Cancer Centers nationally and globally to develop more effective therapies that are targeted to each patient’s unique disease profile.

Dr Vijay Ramanan is the FIRST individual Patron of European Society of Blood and Bone Marrow Transplant in India. He heads the Ruby Hall Clinic Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant (RHCBMT) is the one of best in India and most innovative in Asia.

RHCBMT is a stand alone dedicated facility, equipped with ultra-modern infrastructure and internationally trained, widely experienced faculty. The Centre is supported by state-of-the-art laboratory services and transfusion services, along with a fully equipped radiation Oncology unit with facility for total body irradiation. The Centre offers both allogenic and autologous transplant using bone marrow, peripheral blood stem cells and cord blood stem cells for various benign and malignant disorders like Thalassemia, Aplastic Anaemia, Leukemia, Lymphomas, Multiple Myelomas, autoimmune disorders and Advanced Solid Tumors.

KEY DEPARTMENT HIGHLIGHTS

RHC Centre for Bone Marrow Transplant is one of the largest Centres of its kind in Western India.
The Centre has performed the maximum number of transplants in western India with cord blood and Haploidentical grafts.
Each room is supported by separate HEPA filter with triple level air filtration.
Transplants are routinely performed for children as well as adults.
The Centre is credited with Pune’s First successful cord (Match Unrelated Donor) and Haploidentical Transplants for Thalassaemia.
The Centre contributes data to EBMT, Asia-Pacific BMT, Indian Stem cell registry Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Bone marrow transplantation is a procedure wherein stem cells from bone marrow that produce various blood cells like red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are injected into a recipient. These stem cells are also referred to as hematopoietic stem cells. Nowadays, hematopoietic stem cells may also be obtained from peripheral blood after treatment with certain growth factors or from umbilical cord. Thus, the term “Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation” is now preferred to “Bone marrow transplantation” to include these other sources of hematopoietic stem cells.

The bone marrow is a soft, spongy portion within a bone. It contains immature cells called stem cells that have a continuous ability to produce different types of blood cells i.e. red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. These are released into the blood stream. Bone marrow is of two types, red marrow and yellow marrow. In children, most of the marrow is red marrow and is rich in stem cells. In adults, however, a large portion of the bone marrow is converted into yellow marrow due to infiltration of fat cells. Red marrow in adults is usually restricted to a few bones like the hip bones, breast bone, ribs, shoulder blades, skull, backbone, and the ends of the arm and thigh bones.

BMT is actually means infusion of stem cells (collected either from bone marrow or peripheral blood or cord blood) into the recipient. The type of bone marrow that is used for the transplant distinguishes the different types of BMT.

Autologous BMT is done by using the patient’s own stem cells.
Allogeneic BMT involves using the stem cells of a donor. The donor may be a relative, usually a brother or sister, or an unrelated (anonymous) donor. The donor needs to be Histocompatible Leukocyte antigen (HLA) match.

USP:

FIRST TOTAL BODY IRRADIATION FACILITY in Western India.
FIRST INDIVIDUAL PATRON of EBMT in India. CIC-10173.
FIRST TWIN TRANSPLANT in India.
FIRST UNRELATED CORD BLOOD TRANSPLANT for Thalassaemia in Western India.
FIRST HAPLOIDENTICAL(Half Match) transplant for Thalassaemia and leukaemia in India.
DATA collated with Asia Pacific BMT.
FIRST Centre to have Laminar Hood inside BMT.
Over 250 transplants done till date for various indications with combined survival of over 75% for allogenic and 98% for autologous transplants.

Cancer Centre at Ruby Hall Clinic offers state-of the-art treatment for patients with brain tumours, spinal cord tumors, and neurological complications from Cancer.
Multidisciplinary approach to patient care is provided by skilled & experienced physicians & neurosurgeons.
Our specialists in Neurosurgery, Radiation Oncology & Imaging bring their expertise to every case & develop a personalized treatment plan for all our patients.
The Centre is very well equipped with latest advanced CT Scanner, MRI Scanner and PET Scanner for Neuro imaging evaluations & treatment plan.
We have weekly meetings to reviews each patients case to ensure they receive the best care possible.
Neurosurgeries are done in exclusive Neuro operation theatre equipped with state of the art Zeiss Pentero Operating Microscope, Aesculap Drilling Equipment, Medtronic Neuronavigation and Neuromonitoring equipment, CUSA etc.

Ruby Hall Clinic has acquired country’s first “Time of Flight” PET-CT scanner in 2008.

PET/CT is a combination of a PET scan and a CT scan obtained at one time and by a single piece of equipment. CT produces a detailed anatomic map of the body and shows structural abnormalities in minute detail while PET produces metabolic map of body by injecting a radioactive tracer and tracking its distribution into the body and thus can identify chemical and physiological changes related to metabolism. This is important since the metabolic changes shown by PET often occur before structural changes develop. So PET is able to detect certain diseases before other imaging modalities by visualizing the metabolic processes occurring in the body.

“The PET scan at Ruby Hall Clinic, is the most advanced Cancer diagnosis technology across the world.”

The Philips Gemini TF PET/CT scanner combines the latest Time-of-flight PET technologywith a state-of-the-art 16 slice CT scanner.Fast and accurate scanning with least radiation exposure, are features of the TOF PET scan at Ruby Hall Clinic. In addition, the whole body PET CT scan is finished just in 12 min. It’s an OPEN PET CT gantry, which means there is no claustrophobia (Fear of closed places) as there is no long tunnel in which the patient has to go for scanning.

PET-CT in Oncology

PET/CT is particularly effective in identifying whether Cancer ispresent or not, if it hasspread, if it is responding to treatment and if a person is Cancer free after treatment.

Early Detection: Because PET/CT images biochemical activity, it can accurately characterize some tumors as benign or malignant, thereby avoiding surgical biopsy when the PET/CT scan is negative.

Staging of Cancer: PET/CT is extremely sensitive in determining the full extent of disease, especially in lymphoma, malignant melanoma, breast or lung Cancers. Confirmation of the presence or absence of metastatic disease allows physician to more effectively decide how to proceed with the patient’s management.

Checking for Recurrences: PET/CT can differentiate tumor recurrences from radiation necrosis or post-surgical changes and thus useful in deciding more rational treatment plan for patient.

Assessing the Effectiveness of Therapy: The level of tumor metabolism is compared on PET/CT scans taken before and after a chemotherapy cycle. PET/CT can provide important information about the effectiveness of a chemotherapy.

PET-CT scans are used for many types of Cancer. From the research, we know that in some Cancers PET-CT scans can help to:

Diagnose Cancer
Stage a Cancer
Make decisions about whether you can have surgery to remove your Cancer
Make decisions about which is the best treatment for your Cancer
Show how well the treatment is working
Show the difference between post-treatment scar tissue and active Cancer tissue
Check whether your Cancer has come back
Find the place in the body where your Cancer first started to grow (primary site of Cancer)

Medical Oncology

Meet Our Doctors

Dr. Nagesh Sirsath