In the conference, experts from the USA, Singapore, and Vietnam discussed the technology of testing 20,000 pairs of genes to identify cancer cells via hereditary mutation – the most state-of-the-art technology at the moment for cancer screening via gene sequencing. They explained in details the research basis and implementation experience of the technology in optimizing cancer treatments.
According to these professionals, this new technology is able to early detect a troublesome gene or cells of high risk. The new technology has made MD Anderson Cancer Center (a member of Texas University in the USA) become the leader in cancer treatment in its country for the past 28 years.
Taking part in the event were more than 300 delegates, who are professors and doctors from Johns Hopskin University (Singapore), MD Anderson Cancer Center (the USA), and many Vietnamese experts of the field.
The conference had the honor to welcome Doctor Phan Minh Liem, who has been honored 4 times by MD Anderson Cancer Center. He and his colleagues have conducted 26 scientific research projects on new treatments for cancer, 3 of which are related to the control of energy metabolism within the ulcer and have been awarded by the National Assembly as well as the United States Department of Defense for three consecutive years.
Experts from the USA and Vietnam also attended the grand opening of the Vietnam – USA Biomedical Institute, managed by Dr. Phan Minh Liem. This is the first center in Vietnam to have the next-generation gene sequencing and genomics technology in cancer precision medicine and screening, transferred by MD Anderson Cancer Center.
It is expected that the new solution will allow doctors to analyze the gene map after testing in order to quickly detect troublesome genes for early treatment.
At the moment, in Vietnam, it is quite hard to implement solutions of cancer screening and early treatment due to financial limits since the technology can only be used in countries like the USA or Singapore, where the medical field is highly developed.
Therefore, according to Mr. Tran Dinh Thien – Head of the Vietnam Institute of Economics, the opening of this new institute is an impressive breakthrough to allow the Vietnamese to take full advantage of new and leading cancer treatment technologies in the world without having to travel to Japan or Singapore like before. This is supposed to greatly reduce treatment expense.
The result of sequencing the 20,000 pairs of patients’ genes will be analyzed and certified by doctors from the American Society for Clinical Pathology, the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. Based on this, there will be a more precise method of cancer treatment.
The successful transfer of the technology to quickly detect and early treat cancer in the Vietnam – USA Biomedical Institute is the first step in the long-term collaboration between Vietnam and the USA, proving that the Vietnamese medical field now has a full capacity and the resources to implement leading technologies in the world in cancer treatment.
At present, with over 125,000 new cancer patients each year, 90,000 of whom end up in death, Vietnam has become the nation with the highest rate of death due to cancer on earth. The main cause of this grave situation is the late discovery of the disease and the limit in treatment methods.
