The PuRPOSE Programme launched its joint laboratory at Biopolis on 30 April 2018 to improve the treatment of liver cancer. The programme is a collaboration between A*STAR’s Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IMCB)- A*STAR’s Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS)- the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS)- the National University of Singapore (NUS)- and Samsung Medical Center from South Korea.

The collaboration is the world’s first clinically reliable and robust patient-specific diagnostic and predictive platform for liver cancer- and brings together leading experts in translational research from Singapore and South Korea.

Liver cancer is the sixth most common cancer worldwide- and the second most common cause of cancer death . It is also the fourth most common cancer among men in Singapore . If untreated- most patients do not survive beyond 6 months. There are currently few efficacious drugs for treating liver cancer and this poses a huge unmet clinical need.

The new platform will allow researchers and pharmaceutical companies to work together to understand the disease better- in the hope of accelerating drug development and expanding treatment options for patients.

Read more below:

• The Straits Times: Lab to boost treatment of liver cancer launched
• Lianhe Zaobao: Singapore partners South Korea in liver cancer precision medicine research
• Channel NewsAsia: Faster- targeted therapy for liver cancer patients