The Tata Memorial Centre constitutes the national comprehensive cancer centre for the prevention, treatment and research on Cancer and is comparable to any similar center in the world. This achievement has been possible due to the far-sighted and total support of the Department of Atomic Energy, responsible for managing this Institution since 1962.

In 1932 when Lady Meherbai Tata died of leukaemia, after treatment abroad, Sir Dorab Tata was determined to establish similar facilities for the treatment of Cancer in India, initially planned for with a Radium Institute in Bombay. Sir Dorab unfortunately died in 1932. Such was the commitment he made that the Trustees of the Sir Dorab Tata Trust, along with various outstanding Cancer specialists committed themselves in 1935 to the establishment of the centre that would benefit the Nation with a more lasting value than the usual philanthropy. Out of this humanitarian concept and commitment from the House of Tatas was born the nucleus of a Hospital, in 1941, called the TATA MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.

The Tata Memorial Hospital was initially commissioned by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust on 28 February 1941 as a center with enduring value and a mission for concern for the Indian people. In 1952 the Indian Cancer Research Centre was established as a pioneer research institute for basic research - later called the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). In 1957 the Ministry of Health temporarily took over the Tata Memorial Hospital. The transfer of the administrative control of the Tata Memorial Centre (Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute) to the Department of Atomic Energy in 1962 was the next major milestone. This was due to the foresight and the vision of Dr. Homi Bhabha, who envisaged the major role that radiation would play in cancer treatment - from imaging to staging and actual therapy. The TMH and CRI merged as the two arms of the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) in 1966 represented a classic example of private philanthropy augmented by Government support, with a mandate for Service, Education and Research in Cancer.

The TMC, a Grant-in-Aid institution of the DAE, GOI, now comprises of nine centres - the main Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) in Mumbai; the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research & Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology (CCE) at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai; the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (HBCHRC) at Aganampudi, Visakhapatnam; the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital (HBCH) at Sangrur, Punjab; the Dr. Bhubaneswar Borooah Cancer Institute (BBCI) at Guwahati; the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital at Varanasi; the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (HBCHRC) at Mohali, Punjab. The Mahamana Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya Cancer Centre (MPMMCC) at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi.