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The new platform is vastly different as it collects and stores data of breast cancer patients, including their diagnostics, treatments and progress 

HOSPITAL Picaso and Roche Malaysia are set to launch Clarums, a breast cancer digital registry platform for collecting hospital-based data, in January next year. 

The platform is vastly different from the existing National Cancer Registry as it collects and stores only the data of Hospital Picaso’s breast cancer patients, including their diagnostics, treatments and progress. 

Apart from this, data collected by Clarums would also assist doctors in getting patients’ histories in a short amount of time, as well as monitoring their patients’ care through medical audit evaluation. 

The hospital’s consultant breast surgeon Prof Emeritus Dr Yip Cheng Har said Clarums would allow doctors to track the patients for compliance, especially to ensure whether they have completed their treatment as their survival depends on their compliance. 

“One of the global breast cancer initiative guidelines says that patients must complete their treatment to have a maximum 80% survival rate, which is why monitoring is very important. 

“Apart from this, the platform could also be used as a source of data for research and resource planning, especially for doctors who would be performing surgeries on their patients,” she told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR) recently. 

Meanwhile, Roche Malaysia GM Deepti Saraf said doctors and hospitals need good data to ensure their treatments are working. 

“Good data allows you to see your patient’s progress and what changes could be done if their existing treatment does not show positive results. So, we came up with this platform to support the oncologists and doctors. 

“Besides, the platform has the highest level of privacy as per international standard and it is owned by any hospital we gave (the platform) to, so Roche would not be having any interference in the data collected,” she told TMR. 

Despite being a hospital-based digital registry, Clarum is also accessible to other registry platforms such as the National Cancer Registry through Application Programme Interface, so that the data collected can be used for education purposes. 

Data collected would assist doctors in getting patients’ histories in a short amount of time, as well as monitoring their patients’ care through medical audit evaluation, says Yip (Pic Courtesy of Hospital Picaso)

Recent Breast Cancer Data Collected by National Cancer Registry

Yip, in highlighting October as the month of breast cancer awareness month, said, breast cancer remains one of the most common cancers in the country, according to the 2017- 2021 data collected by the National Cancer Registry. 

The latest figure shows that one in every 23 females has breast cancer in an all-female tally. 

“Previously, the most common cancer was recorded in Chinese patients. However, in the recent data collected, breast cancer is more common in Indians, followed by Chinese and Malays. 

“The recent data shows that one in every 17 Indians; one in every 19 Chinese and one in every 26 Malays females would have cancer. 

“But this data may not be accurate, because the Health Ministry may not capture all the cancer cases in the country, so perhaps there may be overreporting of Indian patients and underreporting for Chinese patients,” she said. 

Despite increasing awareness over time, Yip said the majority of patients still present at the hospital with breast cancer stage three and four. 

“There are some misconceptions that breast cancer is increasing within the younger population. This is not true, as the highest cases still occur within the 65 to 69-year-old age group and about 12% are female patients below the age of 40, as the current registry recorded,” she added. 

Myth and Misconcep- tions of Breast Cancer

Yip also debunked some famous myths and misconceptions about breast cancer including ones that claim sugar consumption could “activate” breast cells. 

“This is 100% not true. Sugar does not trigger cancer. There is no scientific evidence to support this claim when it came about a few years ago. 

“All of us feed on sugar. If it is true, then you have to starve your whole body before you can kill the cancer cells, which are harder than your normal cells,” she said. 

However, Yip added, that people need sugar and carbohydrates for metabolism or otherwise they would feel very weak and lethargic. 

“Our bodies need sugar. But of course, you should not take excessive sugar because that may cause you to become diabetic,” she said. 

Apart from this, she emphasised that needle biopsy does not cause cancer to spread and chemotherapy is not fatal. 

“Cancer is diagnosed with needle biopsy, as breast cancer cannot be diagnosed by just looking at the lump or mammo- gram and chemotherapy does not kill you, but it will improve your survival from breast
cancer. 

“There is also no scientific evidence that stress could cause cancer. Some patients thought that cancer would hinder them from living their life. It is not true,” she said. 

Yip clarified that cancer does not occur because someone did something bad — it is just part of their cells breaking down. 

Nevertheless, she emphasised that one of the natural cures for cancer patients, apart from medical assistance, is to live a healthy life. 

“A healthy diet and lifestyle are the only things that are evidence-based, known to improve survival,” she said. 

Hospital Picaso, which is short for PJ Integrated Centre for Advanced Surgery and Oncology, began operating in mid-2024. The hospital focuses on surgical procedures, cancer care and personalised medical care. 

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