Bangkok Dusit Medical Services (BDMS) plans to further develop its specialised care for cancer patients by joining hands with Japan's National Cancer Center, in a move to upgrade Thailand's cancer research and care to the Asia-Pacific level.
Bangkok Cancer Hospital, also known as Wattanosoth Cancer Hospital, a unit under BDMS, established academic cooperation with the National Cancer Center at a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing ceremony yesterday.
Poramaporn Prasarttong-Osoth, BDMS president and Group 1 chief executive, said the MoU promises to enhance cancer care and pave the way for Bangkok Cancer Hospital to become a leading medical service provider for cancer patients.
Under the MoU, there will be the exchange of medical knowledge between the two institutions as well as inter-agency research support. This will be a precursor to more effective cancer treatment which will respond to changes in cancer situations, said Thiravud Khuhaprema, director of Bangkok Cancer Hospital.
Thailand needs this kind of cooperation because the cancer incidence rate in the country rises every year, he said.
Cancer is one of the top three leading causes of death in Thailand. One in six people of both sexes in the country will develop cancer before the age of 75, according to the World Health Organisation's Global Cancer Observatory 2020 database.
Liver and bile duct, lung and colorectal cancers, on the one hand, and breast, colorectal and cervical cancers on the other, are the three most common cancers in males and females, respectively.
Dr Thiravud said cooperation between the two institutions will also pave the way for them to jointly support the Asian Clinical Trials Network for Cancers project, known as ATLAS, an international genomic medicine research project.
According to media reports, the development of new genomic sequencing technology, known as next-generation sequencing (NGS), can benefit cancer treatment. NGS has been incorporated as an innovative cancer treatment strategy to identify the true driver of gene mutations in cancer in an individual patient.
