Download Taking CanCer Care To The nexT level

Issue No. 01 • MICA (P) 207/10/2008
an nccs bi-monthly publication
October / November 2008
...helping r e a ders to achiev e good he a lth
Taking Cancer Care
to the next level
An interview with Prof Soo Khee Chee
Page A2
In Other Words
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
Taking Cancer Care
to the next level...
The National Cancer Centre
Singapore (NCCS) is known
not just for its expertise in
cancer treatment but as
one of the key centres in
cutting-edge research. Behind
this success is its founding
director Prof Soo Khee Chee,
whose passion for research has
put NCCS on the world stage.
B
e it 0730 hours or 1930 hours,
whichever time of the day you
pick, it is not uncommon to see
the lights at his office on the fourth
level of Goh Song Chiang Building.
Not an unearthly hour, yet many of us
would still be in our pyjamas. But not
for Prof Soo Khee Chee. Tranquility for
him is an opportunity to get his paper
work done.
In more than one way, Prof Soo, or just
Prof, as he is affectionately known to
his colleagues, wears many hats but is a
man of few words.
As NCCS Director, he is tasked with
looking into policy matters and research
projects. On his plate is the constant
need to raise funds to support these
research projects. He attends to patients
at his clinic, performs surgery, and also
shares his experience and expertise
with his specialists, as well as teach the
younger doctors. Not only that, he is the
Vice Dean, Clinical and Faculty Affairs,
of the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical
School, and his latest additional role
is his appointment as Assistant CEO of
SingHealth Group overseeing research
and education.
Prof Soo is one of the
pioneers who saw the birth
of NCCS, and today runs it
with clockwork efficiency,
attending to the majority
of public patients. He is the
face of NCCS in the global
fraternity and is one of the
founders of the Asian National
Cancer Centres Network.
A firm believer in research, he is
constantly strategising and encouraging
his team of investigators and clinician
scientists. His prime worry is finding the
funds to keep their projects going. For
the Penang-born professor, his efforts
have not been in vain.
Today, NCCS is an example of what a
premier cancer centre should be. Teams
of specialists from various medical
disciplines work together, supported by
a talented pool of clinician scientists,
focusing on how the patients can benefit
from their discoveries. On hand are
also the latest medical equipment, for
example in radiation technology, so that
they can also leverage on advances in
IT to complement their efforts. NCCS, as
part of its comprehensive service, also
offers patients psycho-social counselling
and carries out a whole menu of support
programmes to help patients journey
through their illness.
Doctors at NCCS also carry out clinical
trials as they have a wide patient base
which is required for any trial to be
effective. This also means that the
doctors get to see the different types of
cancer and hence are better exposed
and experienced in responding to the
patients’ needs.
When asked about how things have
turned out so far, a modest Prof Soo said:
“I am pleasantly surprised that it has
worked out better than we thought.”
There were several issues that were
important for NCCS at the time of its
inception. One was to be able to create
various multi-disciplinary segments so that
sub-specialist care can be given to the
patients in an efficient and timely manner.
“This has turned out well because we are
now able to offer a comprehensive range
of specialist care in each of the major
cancer groups,” he added.
Today, NCCS is an example of what a premier cancer centre should
be. Teams of specialists from various medical disciplines work together,
supported by a talented pool of clinician scientists, focusing on how the
patients can benefit from their discoveries.
Page A3
In Other Words
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
Prof Soo, who was recently
conferred the first national award
by the Ministry of Health in
recognition of his contribution to
mentoring young doctors, is not
one to rest on his laurels. One area
where he feels things could have
turned out better would be to
house all cancer specialists under
one umbrella, attending to cancer
patients throughout Singapore.
Getting
the
talents
The other consideration involved
recruiting highly talented scientists
to generate a regular flow of in-depth
research papers and create intellectual
property in a productive way given the
limitation in grants and other financial
support for research projects.
“NCCS is getting recognition for its
work not only within Singapore and the
region, but also globally,” said Prof Soo.
In fact each year, he also schedules a
few overseas trips to keep abreast of the
latest in cancer treatment. He is also
a sought-after speaker at distinguished
overseas gatherings.
“…But, what’s more important – winning
the prize or curing polio? Of course
it’s curing polio. It’s the science that’s
important, not the recognition.”
Prof Peter Courtland Agre 2003 Nobel Prize
in Chemistry, in reference to Jonas Salk who
though he made the polio vaccine, he never
won the Nobel Prize.
Some high profile research discoveries included the works by Dr Kon Oi Lian on
developing cell-based treatments for metabolic disorders such as diabetes mellitus and
haemophilia A; colorectal cancer vaccine and T cell therapy for nasopharyngeal cancer
patients by Dr Toh Han Chong, and the role of the tumour-supressor genes, p53 and p73
by Prof Kanaga Sabapathy.
Now, NCCS has moved to the next level where it is sharing its expertise with others. Already
it has proven to be a fertile training ground for grooming cancer specialists in Singapore,
but now it has moved beyond its boundaries and are training specialists within the region.
Doctors from Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam are benefiting from this programme.
Prof Soo, who was recently conferred the first national award by the Ministry of Health
in recognition of his contribution to mentoring young doctors, is not one to rest on his
laurels. One area where he feels things could have turned out better would be to house all
cancer specialists under one umbrella, attending to cancer patients throughout Singapore.
So far NCCS has helped the other hospitals to set up clinics to provide cancer services
to their patients, such as at Changi General Hospital, KK Women’s and Children’s
Hospital, National University Hospital and Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
NCCS continues to be the only centre providing training for healthcare providers in
palliative medicine, and with the setting up of the new Lien Centre for Palliative Care,
the training programme is expected to benefit even more people.
Asked how he retains talent within NCCS, he said the human resource structure is
undergoing some robust changes, and the main clinicians and scientific investigators
are now becoming faculty members of Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School. This
Duke-NUS collaboration will help create a more intellectual milieu for the campus
and advance the course of academic medicine. At the same time, it will train more
specialists to meet the demand of a greying and expanding population.
By Sunny Wee
Page A4
In Focus
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
A Cure at what Price?
– Searching for Personalised Yet Affordable Medicine
F
or five years, Prof Huynh The Hung
from the Laboratory of Molecular
Endocrinology in National Cancer
Centre Singapore (NCCS) and his team
have been working towards a noble dream.
Recently, NCCS joined hands with
AstraZeneca, an Anglo-Swedish
pharmaceutical firm, to test drugs to
combat HCC. The combination of drugs
being tested by the team is almost infinite.
Apart from testing new compounds
periodically provided by pharmaceutical
companies, they may also combine the
new compounds with existing drugs to
see if better results can be attained. And
even though Prof Huynh and his team
now primarily deal with liver cancer,
results of their work could potentially be
used on other solid tumours.
They embarked on a journey to
come up with a personalised and yet
affordable medicine to treat cancer.
While personalised medicine is not
new, most researchers are focused on
looking for a treatment or drug that
works in treating cancer.
What sets this project apart is that the
cost of therapy for the patient, should the
treatment require more than two or three
drugs, is another key consideration.
Hence, Prof Huynh has to strike a
tough balance, which could possibly
explain why researchers often ignore the
question of cost.
This project entails taking tissues from
a tumour of, for example, a liver cancer
patient for implantation into the liver of
six to eight mice. These SCID mice, as
they are known, are immuno-deficient
and they are commonly used as hosts for
normal and malignant tissue transplants.
This process is known as surgical
orthotopic implantation and is believed
to be available only in NCCS for research
on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
The tumours are then allowed to grow
in the mice while the team maps out
several treatments for them using a
combination of not more than three
different drugs. These drugs are then
administered to the mice as they would
be to the patients. The mice are then
monitored to gauge the response of the
different drugs or combinations of drugs
using the CT and PET scans.
In doing so, it gives the team an idea
of the combination of drugs that would
work best for the respective patients
whose tissues were grown in the mice.
It was not smooth sailing for
Prof Huynh when he first embarked
on his research. In fact, it drew
a lot of flak from the research
community as tissues from patients
were implanted and grown under
the skin of the mice.
However, due to the underlying liver
disease, not all patients are able to
donate their tumour tissue for making
xenografts and not all the HCC tissues
from the patients will successfully grow
in mice for drug testing. Furthermore,
many patients may not have enough
time to wait for the test results or be
able to finance the surgical orthotopic
implantation procedure or the drugs
recommended. In these cases, Prof
Huynh may still be able to find
effective solutions by comparing the
protein profile and/or gene signature
of the affected patient with other
patient-derived HCC xenografts in his
therapeutic programme database to
look for similarities and therapeutic
regimens. Following this, he may also
be able to recommend less expensive
drugs that are likely as effective.
But his persistence has finally paid
off. With the new technique of
surgical orthotopic implantation,
many pharmaceutical companies
have been approaching him to do
pre-clinical testing for their new
drugs. Hopefully, in the near
future, this will result in patients
having access to drugs that are
personalised yet affordable.
By Carol Ang
KIDNEY CANCER
Page C1
– Fighting the War with New Weapons
SALUBRIS
Under The Microscope
October / November 2008
Introduction
Kidney cancer accounts for about 3% of all adult cancers
with more males than females affected. Each year, there
are more than 200,000 new cases diagnosed world-wide
while more than 100,000 will die from the disease. The
local incidence of this cancer has been increasing over the
past 35 years and an estimated 90 men and 56 women are
diagnosed with this cancer yearly.
This cancer typically affects people
in the fifth to seventh decade of their
lives. Most kidney cancers arise de
novo, except for families with hereditary
kidney cancer related to the von HippelLindau syndrome. Risk factors for kidney
cancer include smoking, obesity, long
term uncontrolled hypertension and
long-term dialysis for kidney failure. In
the past, the prognosis of patients with
advanced renal cell cancer was poor,
with life expectancy not exceeding
a year. Conventional treatment using
interferon α is the standard systemic
treatment as chemotherapy is not
effective and high dose interleukin
is too toxic. Our treatment of kidney
cancer in recent years has changed
with the understanding that attacking
blood vessels feeding the tumour is an
important treatment strategy.
Signs and Symptoms
Most kidney cancers develop silently.
In its early stage, there are either no
symptoms at all or transient symptoms
which are often discounted by patients.
By the time patients display symptoms,
the cancer is already in the advanced
stages. Common symptoms include
painless microscopic or macroscopic
haematuria, pain or palpable mass in
the flanks of the body. Paraneoplastic
syndromes are also common, such
as fever, symptoms secondary to
hypercalcemia and weight-loss. Stauffer’s
syndrome, which is an abnormal
liver function in the absence of liver
metastasis, is also frequently seen. In
advanced stages, where the disease has
metastasised to other organs, symptoms
such as cough from involvement of the
lungs, bone pain or jaundice from liver
involvement may arise.
By Dr Tay Miah Hiang
Visiting Consultant,
Dept of Medical Oncology,
NCCS
to improve outcomes to subsequent
systemic therapy (immunotherapy or
targeted therapy with tyrosine kinase
inhibitors) for the clear cell subtype.
There are no tumour markers to measure.
Histological Subtypes of
Kidney Cancer
Clear cell type
75%
Papillary type
15% to 20%
Chromophobe type 5% to 10%
Others
Diagnosis
Kidney cancer can be classified
into several types, and, because
the treatment methods differ, it is
important to subtype them accurately.
Although most diagnoses can be
made radiologically, usually via a CT
scan or ultrasound, histopathological
confirmation is important. This
is usually via cytoreductive
nephrectomy if the affected kidney
is resectable, a core biopsy of the
kidney or a metastatic lesion biopsy.
Cytoreductive nephrectomy (to reduce
tumour bulk) has also been shown
<1%
Treatment Options
The cancer is curable only if localised
within the kidney and resectable.
Depending on the size of the cancer, the
risk of recurrence varies from 10% in stage
1 to at least 60% in stage 3. Unlike breast
or colon cancer, no treatment after surgery
to date has proven to reduce the risk of
recurrence. Once there is a recurrence,
it is considered as Stage 4 cancer and is
incurable. The aim of treatment, therefore,
is palliative, with the aim to improve
overall survival, progression-free survival
and quality of life.
Continued on page C2.
Page C2
Under The Microscope
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
KIDNEY CANCER
– Fighting the War with New Weapons
Continued from page C1.
Palliative treatment of metastatic kidney cancer
The Future
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are
common effective treatments for most
cancers but is usually ineffective for
kidney cancer. The most recognised
and accepted treatment until recently
is immunotherapy. High dose
immunotherapy may potentially
induce a cure in less than 5% of
patients. However, this treatment is
toxic and potentially life-threatening
as well. The most common alternative
to high dose interleukin is low dose
immunotherapy which can control
the disease (for an average of 3 to 6
months) in 15% of all patients treated
with interferon α. Despite its low
dose treatment, side-effects such as
fever, chills and loss of appetite can
be a prominent feature, resulting in
interruption or treatment cessation.
which stimulates growth such as
the abnormal tumour blood vessels
and the tumour cells themselves.
These treatments have proven to be
superior in terms of better response
and duration of disease control as
compared to interferon.
Since this milestone in the treatment of
advanced kidney cancer, further work
is already in the pipeline to assess its
effectiveness in the adjuvant setting
and in combination with other agents
such as chemotherapy or combination
of targeted biological agents in the
advanced setting. In addition, newer
and potentially more powerful drugs
in the class of sunitinib, sorafenib and
temsirolimus are currently in advanced
stages of clinical trials.
Recent research has led to a better
understanding of kidney cancer of
the clear cell subtype. The loss of
the tumour suppressor, von HippelLindau gene at chromosome 3p,
results in exuberant abnormal
neovascularisation that not only feeds
the tumour but forms the basis of
metastasis. With this understanding,
new drugs belonging to the class
of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs)
or mammalian target of rapamycin
(mTOR) inhibitors have been
developed to target this defect.
These drugs include sorafenib
(Nexavar), sunitinib (Sutent) and
temsirolimus (Torisel) and they have
been approved by FDA (USA) for the
treatment of kidney cancer.
The study showed that the
progression-free survival duration for
patients receiving sorafenib doubled
compared to patients on placebo
(5.5 months vs 2.8 months) with a
hazard ratio of 0.44 (95% CI, 0.355.5) which was statistically significant
(p<0.01). There was also a trend
towards improved overall survival at
the interim analysis with a reduced
risk of death by about 28%. They have
differing side-effects compared to
immunotherapy or chemotherapy but
on the whole were better tolerated.
Side-effects included hypertension,
cardiac ischaemia, asthenia, weight
loss, diarrhoea and hand-foot rash.
Despite the acclaimed ease of use,
some patients still do experience
significant toxicities. In addition,
this class of drug has wide drug-todrug interaction which may increase
toxicities. As such, an experienced
oncologist should be involved in the
management of such patients.
These drugs are neither chemotherapy
nor immunotherapy but what we call
biological targeted therapy. Each of
these agents stop cancer growth by
blocking the cellular signaling pathway
Locally, sorafenib is the first of these
drugs to be approved by HSA for
treatment of metastatic renal cell
cancer of clear cell subtype. The
pivotal trial that led to FDA and HSA
approval was a phase III randomised
clinical trial which compared patients
on placebo in the control arm with
patients on sorafenib. These patients
have metastatic renal cell cancer and
have previously been treated with
some form of immunotherapy.
Conclusion
The recent approval by HSA
of sorafenib and sunitinib
for the treatment of kidney
cancer is testimony to the
effectiveness of the new
drugs. It gives oncologists
more armamentarium to use
against kidney cancer. Due to
the extensive investment into
research and development of
these drugs, treatment does
not come cheap and it is
therefore important that before
a patient fully understands the
benefits and potential risks of
treatment, goals of treatment
and the financial implications
of treatment should be
highlighted. We need to plan
before we start treatment.
DCE MRI for
Anti-Angiogenic
therapy
A team from the National Cancer Centre Singapore
recently presented a paper on the use of Dynamic
Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(DCE MRI) for Phase I anti-angiogenic trial for
a Clinical Science Symposium on Personalised
Medicine as part of the ASCO (American Society of
Clinical Oncology) scientific meeting for 2008.
For a tumour to grow beyond 1mm,
it will need to develop its own blood
supply. Otherwise, there would be
insufficient oxygen and nutrients
to support its growth. Thus, the
process of developing new blood
vessels, or angiogenesis, is required
for tumour growth and metastasis.
Consequently, angiogenesis has been
the target of drug development and
recently, several drugs have been
developed to specifically target
pathways of angiogenesis. These
drugs result in static tumour growth
when they are effective. However,
unlike cancer drugs, which usually
result in reduction in tumour size on
conventional radiological imaging,
many of these anti-angiogenic agents
do not directly result in reduction of
tumour size. DCE MRI has recently
been used as a biomarker to assess the
effects of this class of anti-angiogenic
drugs. DCE MRI parameters reflect
tumour blood flow and capillary
permeability as the net effect of these
changes result in an increase in signal
when the tissue and its supplying
large artery is repeatedly scanned at
short intervals (four seconds) after
administration of gadolinium contrast.
The team used a model developed
by engineers from the Nanyang
Technological University that can
quantify blood flow, capillary
permeability, fractional intravascular
volume and fractional interstitial
volume from DCE MRI data. This new
technique is an improvement over the
current accepted technique.The new
model (Distributed Parameter Model)
separately calculates blood flow and
permeability whereas the current
accepted standard (ktrans and IAUC)
reflects both parameters.
Working together with oncologists
from the National University Hospital
Page C3
Spotlight
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
By Dr Thng Choon Hua
Senior Consultant,
Dept of Oncologic Imaging,
NCCS
and physicists from the Singapore
General Hospital, the team applied
the new model to DCE MRI performed
for a first-in-man Phase I trial of an
anti-angiogenic agent and found
that DCE MRI correlated with drug
concentration, time to progression and
predicted early or late progression.
The results are promising and set the
stage for more studies to determine
if DCE MRI after a single course of
expensive anti-angiogenic therapy
can predict response and patient
benefit. This may allow oncologists
a “trial of anti-angiogenic therapy”
in future.
PS (ml/100g/min)
40.0
35.0
30.0
25.0
20.0
15.0
10.0
5.0
0.0
Page C4
Spotlight
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
Phase II Study of
Weekly Docetaxel
As Salvage Therapy for Disseminated
Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
Summary of study
Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is largely an Asian disease and is
characterised by its greater propensity to systemic dissemination
when compared with other head and neck cancers. About
5% to 8% of the patients will present with distant metastases
at the outset 1, 2. Despite improvement in outcome of patients
with locally advanced stage III/IV disease, with the addition of
platinum-based chemotherapy as combined modality therapy
with radiation, systemic failure continues to be a problem 3, 4.
It is a well established fact that NPC is a chemo-responsive
disease. Over the past decade, our group has established the
activity of several third generation cytotoxics in NPC including
paclitaxel, gemcitabine and irinotecan. 5-7
The efficacy of docetaxel in NPC has
not been studied previously and our group
reported the results of our Phase II trial
conducted in NCCS of single agent weekly
docetaxel as a salvage regimen
for disseminated NPC in this year’s
ASCO Annual Meeting held in Chicago
from 30th May to 3rd June 2008. This is the
first study that confirmed the single agent
activity of docetaxel in heavily pretreated
patients with disseminated NPC.
The best overall response rate of 37%,
median progression free survival of 5.8
months and the median overall survival
of 12.8 months is encouraging, given that
the majority of our patients were late in
the course of refractory and progressive
metastatic disease.
It is noteworthy that the durable responses
seen in those who received partial remission
lasted a mean of 7.9 months. Our study
activity compares favourably with other
active third generation cytotoxics now in
routine use by many Asian centres.
By Dr Joanne Ngeow 1, Dr Leong
Swan Swan 1, Dr Darren Lim 1,
Dr Toh Chee Keong 1, Dr Gao Fei 2,
A/Prof Balram Chowbay 3,
Dr Tan Eng Huat 1
1
Dept of Medical Oncology, NCCS
2
Division of Clinical Trials and
Epidemiological Services, NCCS
3
Division of Medical Sciences, NCCS
References:
1. Fong KW, Chua EJ, Chua ET, et al.
Patients profile and survival of 270
computer tomograph-staged patients with
nasopharyngeal cancer treated at the
Singapore General Hospital. Ann Acad Med
Singapore 1996; 25: 341-6.
The mean number of cycles of
docetaxel received was 3.4 (range
1 to 6). Of note is the low incidence
of grade 3 or 4 hematologic
toxicity and zero incidence of
neutropenic fever. In general,
docetaxel was well tolerated with
fatigue and anemia being the
commonest Grade 3 toxicity.
2.Heng DM, Wee J, Fong KW et al. Prognostic
factors in 677 patients in Singapore with
nondisseminated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.
Cancer 1999; 15: 1912-20.
In conclusion, the use of docetaxel
in combination with other active
agents for first line therapy in patients
with disseminated NPC should be
given due consideration given the
limited efficacy of current regimens.
Incorporating docetaxel in novel
combinations with other active
agents may provide the much needed
improvement for patients with
disseminated NPC. Moreover, it is
also worthwhile including docetaxel
in future clinical trial schedules
for primary treatment of locally
advanced stage III/IV disease, which
is still plagued by distant failures.
4.Chan AT, Teo PM, Ngan RK et al. Concurrent
chemotherapy-radiotherapy compared
with radiotherapy alone in locoregionally
advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma:
progression-free survival analysis of a phase
III randomized trial. J Clin Oncol 2002; 20:
2038-44.
3. Wee J, Tan EH, Tai BC et al. Randomized
trial of radiotherapy versus concurrent
chemoradiotherapy followed by adjuvant
chemotherapy in patients with American Joint
Committee on Cancer/International Union
against cancer stage III and IV nasopharyngeal
cancer of the endemic variety. J Clin Oncol
2005; 23: 6730-8.
5.Au E, Tan EH, Ang PT. Activity of paclitaxel
by three-hour infusion in Asian patients with
metastatic undifferentiated nasopharyngeal
cancer. Ann Oncol 1998; 9: 327-9.
6. Foo KF, Tan EH, Leong SS et al. Gemcitabine
in metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinoma of
the undifferentiated type. Ann Oncol. 2002;
13: 150-6.
7.Poon D, Chowbay B, Cheung YB, Leong
SS, Tan EH. Phase II study of irinotecan
(CPT-11) as salvage therapy for advanced
nasopharyngeal carcinoma. Cancer. 2005;
103: 576-81.
NCCS Activities In and
Around the Community
Page A5
Community
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
Public Forum
Advances in Cancer Research and Treatment
28th June 2008
HDB Convention Centre (HDB Hub), Auditorium
A well-attended forum where
NCCS medical oncologists, Dr Toh
Han Chong and Dr Tan Min-Han,
together with research scientist,
Mr Johnson Ng, of Biochip
Devises Pte Ltd, shared with
audiences on the cancer research
and treatment advancements.
The forum, which was conducted in
two sessions (Mandarin and English),
highlighted topics such as:
• Importance of Research in State-ofthe-Art-Cancer Treatments
• New Experimental Therapies
• Converting Research to Bedside
Treatment
LIVER CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
Liver cancer is the 4th most common cancer among men and ranks number two in terms of fatality.
“Even so, there is potential hope for cure if individuals go for early detection and appropriate intervention,” said
Prof London Lucien Ooi, Chairman of Liver Cancer Awareness Month (Liver CAM) also Deputy Director and Senior
Surgical Oncologist at NCCS.
Thus, to educate and update the public, general practitioners (GPs) and specialists on the disease, treatment
options and prevention, NCCS held a public forum and sharing sessions with the medical professionals in
conjunction with the 1st Liver CAM held in September 2008.
Public Forum
MEDICAL FORUM
Liver Cancer and You ~
Prevention and Treatment
LIVER CANCER AND GPS ~ TREATMENT
OPTIONS AND CASE STUDIES
6th September 2008
HDB Convention Centre (HDB Hub), Auditorium
20th September 2008
About 850 participants
attended the English and
Mandarin forum and found
out more about liver cancer
and related issues such as
hepatitis B, which may lead
to liver cancer.
MAKING SENSE OF LIVER
CANCER MANAGEMENT
27th September 2008
Some 60 GPs benefited from a medical update on liver cancer
when they attended the special forum organised as part of this
year’s Liver CAM. A roundtable discussion session was also held
with specialists in the field.
Page A6
People
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
Award Winners, New
Appointments and More...
NCCS Shares Limelight at
Scientific Meeting
Pictured below, from left to right:
Dr Joanne Ngeow (right), Dr Ang
Mei-Kim, Dr Ho Gay Hui (right) and
Mr William Chin Wei Lim (left).
S
taff from Outram Campus, namely,
SGH, NCCS, National Dental
Centre, National Heart Centre,
National Neuroscience Institute SGH
Campus, Singapore National Eye Centre
and Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School
were invited to submit an abstract of their
work to compete in 13 award categories.
Dr Joanne Ngeow, Registrar of the
Medical Oncology Department
clinched the Young Investigator’s
Award (Clinical) with her paper on
“PET/CT versus Conventional CT
Scans and Bone Marrow Biopsy in the
Initial Staging of Lymphoma Patients:
A Comparative Analysis”.
Three doctors and a Research Officer from National Cancer
Centre Singapore (NCCS) each walked away as winners at the
Singapore General Hospital (SGH) 17th Annual Scientific
Meeting which was held from 25th to 26th April 2008 at the
College of Medicine Building.
Her department colleague, Dr Ang
Mei-Kim, an Associate Consultant,
won the Best Poster (Clinical) prize
for her work which featured “A
Promising New Chemoimmunotherapy
Regimen for Advanced Hepatocellular
Carcinoma”.
Dr Ho Gay Hui, Senior Consultant of
the Surgical Oncology Department,
took home the second prize in
the Best Oral Paper (Clinical). Her
winning paper “Cancer Miss Rate in
Women Under 30 Who Undergone
Excision Biopsy of Clinically Benign
Breast Lumps without Preoperative
Ultrasonography”.
The Best Oral Paper (Scientist) prize
was awarded to Mr William Chin
Wei Lim, Research Officer of the
Laboratory of Photodynamic Diagnosis
and Treatment in the Medical Sciences
Division, for his paper on “Membrane
Transport Enhancement of Chlorin
e6 – Polyvinylpyrrolidone and its
Photodynamic Efficacy on the Chick
Chorioallantoic Model”.
Congratulations to All!
Page A7
People
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
T
he SYA recognises and commends
contributions by youths who excelled
in their respective fields and served
the community in one way or the other.
SINGAPORE
YOUTH AWARDS
2008
Dr Tan Min-Han, an Associate Consultant
of the Medical Oncology Department,
NCCS, is also a dedicated researcher whose
work focuses on kidney cancer. He shuttles
between the laboratory and clinic where
he hopes the knowledge gained about
the disease can be translated to treating
his patients. Despite his busy schedule,
he would still spend time with the junior
doctors, medical students and even junior
college students to give them guidance.
On 6th July 2008,
Dr Tan Min-Han received
the Singapore Youth
Award (SYA), Science and
Technology category, from
Deputy Prime Minister Prof
S. Jayakumar at the Istana.
Healthcare Humanity Award
G
PROMOTIONS
iven out in year 2003 as the
Courage Award after the SARS
(Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome) outbreak in Singapore, the
Healthcare Humanity Award, as it is now
known, recognises outstanding healthcare
workers who go the extra mile in caring
and comforting the sick and the infirmed.
Dr Joanne Ngeow, Registrar of the Medical Oncology
Department, NCCS, is one of the six doctors, to receive the
award from President S.R. Nathan at a presentation ceremony
held on 26th May 2008 at the NTUC Centre Auditorium.
Winners of the award are recognised for demonstrating values
such as courage, extraordinary dedication, selflessness,
steadfastness in ethics, compassion as well as humanity.
Name
Title
Dr Chua Eu Tiong
Head, Radiation Oncology
A/Prof Koong Heng Nung
Head, Surgical Oncology
Dr Fong Kam Weng
Deputy Head, Radiation Oncology
Dr Tan Yu Meng
Senior Consultant, Surgical Oncology
Dr Wong Zee Wan
Senior Consultant, Medical Oncology
Dr Preetha Madhukumar
Consultant, Surgical Oncology
Dr Teo Ching Ching Melissa
Consultant, Surgical Oncology
Dr Quek Hong Hui Richard
Consultant, Medical Oncology
Dr Ng Chee Hui Raymond
Consultant, Medical Oncology
Dr Soong Yoke Lim
Associate Consultant, Radiation Oncology
Dr N. Gopalakrishna Iyer
Associate Consultant, Surgical Oncology
Dr Ang Mei-Kim
Associate Consultant, Medical Oncology
Dr Tan Min-Han
Associate Consultant, Medical Oncology
Dr Ngo Su-Mien Lynette
Associate Consultant, Medical Oncology
NCC Foundation:
Why We Do What We Do
Page A8
NCC Foundation
SALUBRIS
October / November 2008
A leader once asked a
group of executives during
a corporate retreat: How do
you make this organisation an
interesting place?
This is an established company
in the service sector striving to
renew itself. Someone replied:
To be interesting, you have to
be interested.
In present terms, the primary functions of the NCC Foundation are to raise and manage
funds for the NCC Research Fund (NCCRF), the Centre’s registered charity and its
flagship fundraising and grant-making channel. NCCRF provides seeding and bridging
funds for strategic research needs at the institution. Fundraising and grant making are
thus the operative functions of the Foundation. Yet it is not just about money.
T
he NCC Foundation will be
celebrating its first birthday soon.
You may have seen our posters
around – in the lifts, beside the business
office, by the clinics; you may have
heard of or even participated in our
fundraising and outreach events –
‘Circle of Life’, ‘Light of Life’, ‘Muffins
Monday’ and our national event, the
‘Run For Hope’ in October. You sensed
our interest, but how does one define
this Foundation?
It is really about the idea of giving. Essentially, the Foundation hopes to facilitate giving
as part of National Cancer Centre Singapore’s (NCCS) cultural fabric. Giving can come
in various forms – of treasures, talents and time. There are grateful patients who donate
regularly, and there are others who leave significant bequeathment; there is a painter who
shares her talent in support of our cause; there is a warmhearted baker who donates fresh
pastries regularly; and there are staff who volunteer their time and efforts in our events.
These are all actual examples of giving which took place, and the Foundation hopes to
provide a holistically meaningful platform for all such practical and symbolic gifts.
Moving ahead, the Foundation will consolidate its bedrock and put in place programme
structures where different forms of giving can benefit the myriad areas of research, education
and patient welfare. Naturally, we work alongside the crucial support of various departments.
At this juncture, as the Foundation’s first birthday meets the 10th year anniversary of NCCS,
we would like to say a big ‘Thank You’ to one and all who have guided us in our modest
beginning. We look forward to your continuous goodwill in our journey ahead.
By Eugene Sng
Programme Director, NCC Foundation
Salubris
Editorial Advisors
Contributing Editors
Dr Kon Oi Lian
Prof Soo Khee Chee
Dr Lim Soon Thye
Dr Wong Nan Soon
Executive Editors
Members, Editorial Board
National Cancer Centre Singapore
Ms Carol Ang
Ms Adeline Teo
Mr Sunny Wee
Ms Audrey-Anne Oei
Ms Sharon Leow
Ms Flora Yong
11 Hospital Drive Singapore 169610
Tel: (65) 6436 8000 Fax: (65) 6225 6283
www.nccs.com.sg Reg No 199801562Z
is produced with you in mind. If there are other topics related to cancer
that you would like to read about or if you would like to provide some
feedback on the articles covered, please email to [email protected].