Goa Government Takes Historic Step by Making Cancer a Notifiable Disease in Goa

The Government of Goa deserves appreciation for taking a landmark and much needed public health decision by declaring cancer a notified disease throughout the State of Goa.

Through its Notification dated 20 August 2026, issued by the Public Health Department, Government of Goa, the State has established a formal system for the systematic and comprehensive surveillance of cancer incidence, mortality, patterns and trends. The notification recognises that timely cancer data is essential for planning and evaluating prevention, early detection, treatment, palliative care and cancer control programmes.

This is a major milestone for cancer control in Goa and demonstrates the Government’s commitment to moving from a largely treatment oriented approach towards data driven prevention, early detection and population level cancer control.

Under the notification, all newly diagnosed cancer cases, including in situ and invasive malignancies, are required to be notified. The responsibility extends across government and private hospitals, medical colleges, nursing homes, clinics, oncology and day care centres, pathology and diagnostic laboratories, hospices, palliative care institutions and health and cancer screening programmes.

The notification also provides for cancer cases to be reported preferably within seven days and in any event not later than one month from diagnosis, through the cancer surveillance/cancer registry reporting system specified by the Directorate of Health Services.

Importantly, the Non Communicable Disease Cell of the Directorate of Health Services has been designated as the nodal authority, while the DHS is required to establish or designate a State Cancer Registry/State Cancer Surveillance System for compilation, validation, analysis and monitoring of notified cases..

A foundation for evidence based cancer policy

The significance of this notification goes beyond merely reporting cancer cases. A robust cancer surveillance system can help Goa understand where cancers are occurring, which cancers are increasing, which populations are most affected and where gaps exist in screening, diagnosis and treatment.

Such information can support targeted screening programmes, strengthen early detection, improve referral pathways, guide allocation of healthcare resources and enable the Government to evaluate the impact of cancer-prevention initiatives.

The notification also rightly provides safeguards for patient confidentiality, stipulating that individual cancer information received through the notification system shall remain confidential and be used primarily for public-health surveillance, programme planning, research and monitoring.

We particularly commend the Hon’ble Chief Minister, Hon’ble Health Minister and the Public Health Department of the Government of Goa, along with the Directorate of Health Services, for taking this progressive decision.

Goa has once again demonstrated that a relatively small State can take bold, evidence-based public-health decisions with national significance.

The declaration of cancer as a notifiable disease should now be followed by strengthening the State Cancer Registry, ensuring seamless digital reporting from every healthcare establishment, capacity-building of healthcare professionals, and using the resulting data to drive prevention, screening, early diagnosis, treatment and survivorship programmes.

This notification has the potential to become a cornerstone of Goa’s comprehensive cancer-control strategy and can provide a model for other States to emulate.

We welcome and wholeheartedly appreciate this historic initiative of the Government of Goa and look forward to supporting all efforts that translate this policy decision into measurable improvements in cancer prevention and early detection across the State.