REGIONAL CANCER CENTRE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at Thiruvananthapuram is a cancer care hospital and research centre established in 1981 by the Government of Kerala and the Government of India, located in the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College campus. It was formed as an expansion of the Radiation Therapy department of Medical College Trivandrum and was one of six such centres in India at the time. RCC is an autonomous scientific institution jointly sponsored by the state and central governments, designated as a Science and Technology Centre of Excellence in cancer research and treatment. It provides tertiary care for cancers including haematology, soft tissue, bone, head and neck, breast, CNS, gynaecological, urinary, chest, gastro, paediatric, and thyroid cancers, offering diagnostic, treatment, research, and palliative care services. Nearly 60% of patients receive free treatment, with free chemotherapy provided to all children. The centre houses the Hospital Based Cancer Registry, established in 1982 under the National Cancer Registry Programme. RCC is a postgraduate teaching centre affiliated to Kerala University of Health Science, offering super specialty courses such as MCh Surgical Oncology, DM Medical Oncology, DM Pediatric Oncology, MCh Head & Neck Surgery, MCh Gynecological Oncology, MD Radiotherapy, MD Anaesthesiology, and MD Pathology, training more than 400 students annually.