The Asian Fund for Cancer Research is committed to accelerating cancer research that can lead to better strategies to prevent cancer, more reliable diagnostic tools to detect it earlier, and more targeted therapies to effectively treat cancer. AFCR believes that research is the surest and only way to a cure for cancer. 2010 has been another milestone year marking AFCR's growing efforts to advance cancer research, save lives, and offer new hope to future generations for a cancer-free lifetime. Below are some highlights of AFCR's efforts to fight cancer in 2010:
• AFCR sponsored the 2010 Steering Committee Meetings of both the NFCR-TMUCIH Joint Tissue Bank and the Tissue Bank Consortium in Asia, which were hosted in Tianjin, China, on October 26, and in Shanghai, China, on October 28, respectively. The NFCR-TMUCIH Joint Tissue Bank is part of the Tissue Bank Consortium in Asia (TBCA), one of the largest tissue banks in Asia, founded by the National Foundation for Cancer Research, AFCR's partner organization in the United States, in partnership with leading research hospitals in China and multinational biotech and pharmaceutical companies like Amgen, Pfizer and Eli Lilly. TBCA provides researchers with access to high-quality cancer tissue – one of the most valuable resources for cancer researchers today – and promotes collaborative research for scientists seeking to gain a deeper understanding of the role of specific genes, proteins, and pathways in cancer. Armed with this knowledge, scientists can collaborate to further unravel the molecular mysteries of cancer and translate these discoveries into new and more effective early detection strategies and therapies for cancer patients.
• On November 13 – 14, 2010, AFCR was proud to sponsor the 5th Sino-U.S. Conference: Personalized Medicine in Cancer Therapy, in Hong Kong. Co-organized by the Chinese University of Hong Kong and MD Anderson Cancer Center in the U.S., this conference provided a platform for leading international and regional cancer researchers to share the progress being made in personalized medicine – an approach that allows doctors to diagnose and treat each patient's cancer based on the specific characteristics of his or her disease. AFCR believes personalized medicine offers the best potential for curing cancer. By sponsoring this event, AFCR created opportunities for outstanding researchers from around the world to share their ideas and the results of their own research, and promoted global collaboration in the field of personalized medicine, which ultimately will help to physicians choose the best therapy for each patient.
• AFCR collaborated with the Chinese University of Hong Kong to initiate a clinical research project that is investigating why some non-small cell lung cancer patients become resistant to certain anti-cancer therapies. Lung cancer is the #1 killer in Asia, and this much-needed research will lead scientists to develop personalized treatment that targets the drug resistance issue of those non-small cell lung cancer patients. The success of this project will ultimately help these patients to overcome the drug resistance problem and help their doctors identify the most effective and consistent treatment options for their patients.
In 2010, AFCR received funding requests for many research projects that have great potential to benefit cancer patients in Asia and around the world. One project, for example, at the University of Hong Kong, would develop a new blood test that can help doctors better predict the risk of colorectal cancer spreading to distant sites in the body so they can design a more effective treatment strategy to stop it. AFCR believes that, by supporting those cutting-edge cancer research projects, we will continue to move forward in the battle against cancer and ultimately, to find cures for all types of cancer.
These highlights from the past year represent only some of the important cancer-fighting efforts of AFCR. To support these important cancer research projects, please click here.
