International network to fight cancer
Jiang Fan (right), vice director of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, shakes hands with Marc Gunter, representative of International Agency for Research on Cancer after a memorandum is signed between the two facilities in France on Friday.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine signed a memorandum with the International Agency for Research on Cancer in France on Friday to establish a joint international network in cancer research.
Cancer is a major global health problem with around 18.1 million new cases around the world last year, when 9.6 million people died.
Both incidence and mortality remain high in China, which reported 4.3 million new cases and 2.8 million deaths in 2018.
The World Health Organization says the number of cancer cases will keep rising and reducing mortality was a tough task.
Currently, countries such as the US, UK, France and Germany have initiated plans targeting cancer. China has also issued cancer prevention and control measures, while the difficulty of prevention, delayed detection and poor treatment effects pose tough challenges.
Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine has teamed up with leading facilities at home and abroad to carry out genetic research on cancer.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer is a special cancer research facility under the WHO. It aims to boost cancer study through evaluating risk factors, cancer classification and prevention policies as well as statistics of global cancer cases. It gives authoritative information for the study in cancer mechanisms and policy making.
The two facilities have cooperated in academic research in recent years and the signing of the memorandum will further speed up joint research into early screening for cancer, individualized treatment and prevention and help achieve the mutually beneficial development of scientific research, talent communication and student training, officials said.
Jiang Fan, vice director of the school of medicine, said the memorandum will enable deeper cooperation between the two facilities. “China is working on major research plans on cancer and we want to carry out more international cooperation to help build a global cancer research network,” she said.
