National University Cancer Institute, Singapore

Early years

The National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS) was first set up as an ambulatory oncology centre at the National University Hospital (NUH) in September 1988. Then housed at the dentistry wing of the NUH's Main Building, the NUH Oncology Centre soon became the model for other chemotherapy centres in Singapore to emulate.

In 1996, the NUH Oncology Centre moved to the NUH's Kent Ridge Wing. In 1999, another related specialist centre, The Radiotherapy Centre, was opened and the two merged to form The Cancer Institute (TCI) in 2000. Over the years, due to an increasing number of cancer patients seeking treatment in Singapore, the Ministry of Health (MOH) decided that a second centre offering tertiary cancer care was warranted.

Thus, in 2008, TCI was renamed as the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore (NCIS), and it was officially recognised as the second national specialty centre based at the Kent Ridge campus of the NUH.

Present

On 21 April 2014, the NCIS moved into the NUH Medical Centre, a 20-storey landmark building providing one-stop holistic and comprehensive care, management and treatment for both adult and paediatric oncology patients. Covering over 13,000 square metres and occupying levels 8, 9 and 10, the NCIS is housed alongside other outpatient medical specialisations at the NUH Medical Centre and is a one-stop centre in the prevention, management and treatment of cancer.

On 9 July 2014, the NCIS signed a 10-year Oncology Collaboration Agreement with JurongHealth Services Pte Ltd to partner up in the development of a dedicated oncology service, the "JurongHealth-NCIS Cancer Service" at the future Ng Teng Fong General Hospital, to administer better health and clinical outcomes for cancer patients housed at the Western region of Singapore. The Ng Teng Fong General Hospital currently under construction and is expected to be ready from July 2015 onwards.

Activities

The Haematology-Oncology Research Group (HORG) is the research arm of the NCIS. The HORG is established as one of several global teams studying inter-ethnic variability in anti-cancer drugs in the area of pharmacogenetics. The HORG focuses on novel clinical trials, particularly in early-phase drug development.

The HORG is part of the Cancer Therapeutics Group (CTRG), an Asia-Pacific Medical Oncology co-operative group comprising member institutions in Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, providing opportunities to conduct group studies. Under this group, the NCIS is networked with the Mayo Phase 2 Consortium, gaining access to novel compounds offered through the National Cancer Institute - Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (NCI-CTEP) for proof-of-concept studies, as well as the Breast International Group (BIG) in Belgium, allowing for multi-centre studies to test prognostic and predictive assays and novel therapies on a larger scale.

The NCIS also collaborates with the Cancer Science Institute (CSI) of Singapore to contribute to the understanding of disease processes, best clinical practices, and translation of findings from the laboratory to the clinical practice.

On 26 June 2015, the NCIS released a news release on a Phase I clinical trial conducted on a new cancer drug, Selinexor, which has shown positive results in more than half of the patients evaluated.

Notable awards

The NCIS' expertise in cancer has been recognised through several awards to its medical staff. Since the inception of the National Medical Research Council's Clinician Scientist Award in 2004, several clinician-scientists from the NCIS have won this award:

Training healthcare professionals and scientists

The NCIS invests in the training of healthcare professionals in the field of oncology. The NCIS regularly organises Continuing Medical Education (CME) talks for doctors.

Many of the clinicians at the NCIS assume dual roles - serving as surgeons and physicians while lecturing at the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Educating the public

Besides training doctors, the NCIS also educates Singaporeans about cancer prevention, management and cure through the production of cancer educational materials and hosting of public symposiums and events.

The NCIS also actively collaborates with the Singapore Cancer Society and the Breast Cancer Foundation (BCF) to jointly organise forums, health fairs and talks.

Leadership

The National University Cancer Institute (NCIS) was previously led by Centre Director Professor John Wong Eu-Li. In September 2014, it was announced that Professor John Wong Eu-Li would relinquish his position as Centre Director of the NCIS and assume the role of Chief Executive of the National University Health System (NUHS) and Associate Professor Chng Wee Joo was officially appointed as the new Centre Director of the NCIS.

Clinical Specialties

Sub-specialty oncology services

Supportive Care

Currently, there are six support groups at the NCIS. They are:

The NCIS also regularly conducts a series of supportive care programmes for their patients and caregivers. Some of their mainstay programmes include yoga classes, cooking masterclasses, art therapy and other holistic and educational talks and workshops to aid in the patient's journey with cancer.

Notable awards and achievements

Location and infrastructure

Operational since July 2013, the NCIS is located at levels 8, 9 and 10 at the Yong Siew Yoon Wing of the 20-storey NUH Medical Centre serving both full-paying and subsidised patients. Located directly above the Kent Ridge MRT Station (circle line) and designed with patients in mind, it brings about greater accessibility and convenience especially for elderly patients.

The one-stop specialist centre for cancer provides patients with comprehensive delivery of cancer care, from screening, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care. Also located in this building are sophisticated state-of-the-art equipment such as linear accelerators to provide radiation therapy for patients.

In addition, the NCIS operates three oncology wards - Wards 56, 58 and 8A/8C at the Kent Ridge Wing of the NUH.

Clinical Facilities