“Since returning from the United States after several years in New York, I have been struck by the differences between cancer in the US and Southeast Asia. The problem is an enormous one here, with cancer being the leading cause of death in Singapore, and one of the leading causes for other countries in the area. Despite economic fluctuations, patients and their tightly-knit family units are keen to have treatment comparable to what is available in the West. This has led to a tremendous demand to be enrolled in well-run drug trials when standard therapy either has poor results, or when it fails.

Patients here often express the desire to seek trial therapy in the West, but are often hindered by the need to relocate, as well as the significant cost of treatment overseas. With the return of staff trained in the best centers overseas, Singapore now has the ability to run such trials.

Why should we do these trials in Asia? Several cancers, such as gastric, nasopharyngeal, and hepatocellular are far more common in this region compared to the West. It has been suggested that the biology of common cancers, such as breast and lung, may be different between Asians and Caucasians. There is a strong possibility that pharmacogenetics and thus -kinetics and -dynamics may be different between Asians and Caucasians, but this has not been studied in a systematic way. Finally, one has to remember that more than a quarter of mankind is living in this part of the world, dwarfing the population of the United States and Europe combined. We have been extremely fortunate to establish a partnership with the CTRG institutions through the assistance of the Economic Development Board and the Agency for Science, Technology & Research, Singapore. Their collaboration will ensure adherence to the highest clinical trial standards. The CTRG presents the opportunity to run new drug trials simultaneously in both Caucasian and Asian populations and in cancers that are common in the West or unique to the East. It is the aim of the CTRG to contribute to the advancement towards better treatments in this disease.”

John Eu-Li Wong

Director

CTRG—National University Hospital / National University of Singapore