# V. Shanta

Source: https://onco.cc/people/shanta-v/  
OnCo record `shanta-v` (Person). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The doctor who spent 66 years building Chennai's Cancer Institute into a hospital where most patients are treated free, and who set up India's first population cancer registry and paediatric oncology unit.

## Summary

Viswanathan Shanta (11 March 1927 to 19 January 2021) joined the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Adyar, Chennai, in 1955 and lived on its campus until her death, serving as Director from 1980 to 1997 and then Chairman. Under her leadership the Institute grew from a small charitable hospital into a comprehensive cancer centre offering free or subsidised care to about 60% of its roughly 100,000 annual patients, opened India's first paediatric oncology unit, established the Madras Metropolitan Tumour Registry, and led Indian trials in cervical and oral cancer screening. She received the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2005) and the Padma Shri (1986), Padma Bhushan (2006) and Padma Vibhushan (2016).

## Fields

- Kind: Person
- Status: historic
- Last checked: 2026-09-10
- Role: Chairman and former Director, Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar (1927-2021)
- Specialisms: Medical oncology; Paediatric oncology; Cancer registries; Charitable cancer care

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V._Shanta
- Cancer Institute (WIA): https://www.cancerinstitutewia.in
- PubMed author search: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Shanta%20V%5BAuthor%5D%20Cancer%20Institute%20Adyar

## Connected records

- cancers: [Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia](https://onco.cc/cancers/all-leukemia/), [Cervical cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/cervical/), [Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/head-and-neck/)
- technologies: [Cancer registries and population surveillance](https://onco.cc/technologies/cancer-registries-surveillance/), [Global oncology and access in low- and middle-income countries](https://onco.cc/technologies/global-oncology-access/)
- institutions: [Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar](https://onco.cc/institutions/cancer-institute-adyar/)
- journals: [Pediatric hematology and oncology](https://onco.cc/journals/pediatric-hematology-and-oncology/)

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