Collaboration to compare biology of cancers in various ethnic populations
Grand Rapids, MI (February 22, 2007) – Early next week, Van Andel Research Institute (VARI) officials and leaders from the National Cancer Center, Singapore (NCCS) will sign a groundbreaking agreement establishing the NCCS-VARI Translational Research Program at the National Cancer Center, Singapore. The three-year, $1.2 million (U.S.) program will be funded by the government of Singapore through the NCCS, will operate under direction of VARI Distinguished Investigator Bin Tean Teh, M.D., Ph.D., and will focus on the biology behind varying drug responses in Asian versus non-Asian patients with specific types of cancer.
“We’ve long known there to be significant differences in the prevalence of certain types of cancer and in the way those cancers behave among various ethnic groups,” said Dr. Teh. “We’ve more recently found considerable variation in the biology of those cancers and in patient response to treatment of specific cancers across various ethnic populations. Our focus at the NCCS-VARI lab will be those cancers that are rare and, therefore, difficult to study in the U.S., but disproportionately affect the Asian population.”
Singapore’s 4.5 million multiracial population is primarily of Chinese, Indian and Malay descent. The partnership will give Van Andel Research Institute investigators easy access to larger numbers of patients with cancers that are more prevalent among various Asian populations. These include diseases such as liver cancer, stomach cancer, head and neck cancer, bile duct cancer and NK/T cell lymphoma. It will also open a free flow of information and data among cancer researchers from VARI, the NCCS and its affiliated hospitals. Through its extensive network, NCCS captures 55 percent of all cancer cases in Singapore.
“This agreement is reflective of the vision and international leadership present at the National Cancer Centre of Singapore and of the Van Andel Institute’s strong founding commitment to work collaboratively with scientists and research institutions throughout the world,” explained Van Andel Institute Chairman and CEO David Van Andel. “It stems from the belief that science has no borders – we can accomplish far more in cancer research when we share knowledge and work together toward a cure.”
The NCCS-VARI collaboration is the first of its kind between NCCS and an international partner, with the government of Singapore through the NCCS providing $1.2 million (U.S.) over three years to fund operations of the lab. The agreement also calls for an exchange program whereby NCCS and VARI scientists will work on related studies at the partner institutions’ labs. Dr. Teh has been invited to meet with Singapore President Sellapan Rama Nathan to discuss biomedical initiatives in Singapore and Grand Rapids.
Dr. Teh will commit approximately 20 percent of his time to direct the program. Dr. Wen Hsin Koo, head of medical oncology at NCCS, will oversee and manage clinical issues involved in the studies.
“The Van Andel Research Institute is known for its cutting edge technology and focus on translational research. This partnership is a natural outgrowth of our ongoing relationship,” stated NCCS Director Prof. Khee Chee Soo. “Our clinical fellow Dr. MinHan Tan, who worked on kidney cancer research under Dr. Teh’s supervision at VARI, won two consecutive American Society of Clinical Oncology Young Investigator Awards based on his work at the Van Andel Research Institute.”
Since beginning operations in 2000, VARI scientists have worked extensively with researchers worldwide laying the groundwork for such international collaborations. In 2003, for instance, VARI and the Nanjing Medical University (NMU) in Nanjing, China established a research and clinical investigation focused on making human antibodies for pre-clinical cancer therapeutic studies. The agreement led to a 2005 collaboration under which VARI Sr. Scientific Investigator Brian B. Cao, M.D., serves as co-director of the NMU Ministry of Health Key Laboratory of Antibody Technology and VARI accepts NMU Ph.D. students for 12- to 24-month research assignments in its Grand Rapids-based labs.
“The fact that the Van Andel Research Institute was the first U.S. institution to be invited to participate in this type of partnership with the National Cancer Centre of Singapore is quite an honor,” stated VARI Director George Vande Woude, Ph.D. “We expect this agreement to open doors to even more opportunities for strong international collaborations in the coming years.”
The government of Singapore has supported significant collaborations with U.S. partners in recent years, including MIT and Duke University, but this is the first of its kind involving the NCCS and cancer research.
“The NCCS has a strong focus on clinical trials,” said Dr. Teh. “This combined with access to larger patient populations will allow multi-site trials, expand the reach of our research findings and, we hope, shorten time of the drug development process.”
