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NCCS first in Asia to win two awards from world’s leading oncology authority in one year
 TWO young clinician-scientists working on cancer have caught the attention of the world’s leading authority on the disease.
The two doctors, both from the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS), have won coveted annual awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) Cancer Foundation.
Winning as Young Investigator of the Year is Dr Iain Tan, 31, for his research on stomach cancer. He is the second Singaporean to win the $50,000 prize, usually given to Americans.
Last year, the award went to his colleague from the cancer centre, Dr Daniel Tan, also 31, who won a merit award this year.
The two Singaporeans’ wins this year made NCCS the only institute in Asia to be conferred two awards by the leading authority in oncology in a year.
Dr Iain Tan will use his prize money for his research on stomach cancer.
“It is the No. 4 killer cancer among men here... Our goal is to reduce symptoms and increase survival rate,” he said. Each year, more than 600 people here are diagnosed with it, with about 400 dying from it.
He will be looking “backwards instead of forward”, using collected tissue samples to generate detailed molecular profiles of the cancer.
“We will embark on further research to unravel the correlation between genetic profiles and treatment outcomes. This could lead us towards personalised medicine where the doctor could choose the drug which is most likely to be beneficial to individual patients,” he added.
Dr Daniel Tan’s merit award from Asco is for his exploration of new anti-cancer compounds in a first-in-human phase I study. He ran the clinical trial on new drugs that target nasopharyngeal cancer during his fellowship at Royal Marsden Hospital in Britain, which was completed in July last year.
“The way drugs are designed today is different from 10 years ago. The award is an affirmation that Singapore is in a good position to be competitive in the international scene in cancer treatment. We are working with the pharmaceutical companies here to do just that,” he said.
Asco is a society of cancer doctors who set the standard worldwide and lead the way in carrying out clinical research to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer. Since the foundation started giving out the award in 1984, 572 young investigators have been honoured.
Dr Toh Han Chong, who heads the department of medical oncology at NCCS, said: “It is a boost to the medical fraternity here when our young doctors are already contributing with their research. I am confident that their work will impact the lives of many cancer patients worldwide...”
Both Singaporean winners will receive their awards next weekend in Chicago at Asco’s annual meeting, one of the largest scientific meetings, with about 50,000 delegates worldwide expected to attend.
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