Dr Naveen Salins takes charge as new Commissioner for Lancet Oncology Commission on The Humanitarian Crisis of Cancer

Manipal: Dr Naveen Salins has been recently appointed as a Commissioner for the ‘Lancet Oncology Commission on the Humanitarian Crisis of Cancer.' He has been serving as the Associate Dean, Research at Kasturba Medical College, Manipal.  

The commission led by Dr Salins will aim to identify and enlist the drivers that cause an imbalance between the biomedical and the humanitarian aspects of cancer care and thereafter articulate strategies by which this imbalance can be rectified. The commission will therefore encompass aspects of political economy, value systems, and commercial and other drivers of resource allocation for cancer research, education and clinical care.

Additionally, the commission will also explore these issues across the cancer spectrum and a range of resource settings, with a special focus on refugees, displaced persons, and regions with already humanitarian crises. The commission is expected to be completed in approximately two years. The appointment certainly serves as a testament to Dr Naveen Salins’s expertise in the field of oncology. We are certain that his leadership and contribution will significantly propel the advancement of cancer research, education, and clinical care. 

The Lancet Commission will convene its inaugural meeting in London from November 15-17, 2023, followed by a subsequent gathering in Toronto in 2024. Over the next two years (2023-2025), Dr Salins and his esteemed team will diligently analyse the underlying factors contributing to the disparity between the biomedical and humanitarian aspects of cancer care.

Dr Salins completed his MBBS and MD (General Medicine) from Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, MAHE, India. He has a Clinical Diploma in Palliative from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, Australia. He is an FRCP from Royal College of Physicians, Glasgow. He pursued his PhD in Palliative Care from Lancaster University, UK. He pursued his three years of specialist fellowship training in Palliative Medicine at the Lyell McEwin Hospital and after that worked as a consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, South Australia.

On return to India, he held clinical and academic positions at Health Care Global, Bangalore and Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Since 2018, he has been Professor and Head of the Department of Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care at KMC Manipal and the Coordinator of Manipal Comprehensive Cancer Care Centre. In 2020 he was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP) by the Royal College of Physicians London and Glasgow. He completed his PhD in Palliative Care from the Lancaster University UK in 2021. He is also the Honorary Professor of Medicine at Cardiff University, UK.

Through the programme of Commissions, The Lancet Oncology’s editors work with academic partners to identify the most pressing issues in oncology—across science, medicine, and global health—with the aim of providing recommendations that change health policy or improve practice.

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