Research Center for Tumor Medical Science

Introduction

TMS is dedicated to the in-depth study of four cancers (breast, brain, head and neck cancer, pancreatic cancer) in cooperation with other research institutes in China Medical University (CMU). To enhance the level of oncology research, we will incorporate basic medical mechanistic research into the development of innovative prevention and therapeutics. It is our best hope to connect our basic studies with bedside application, and in the long term, to reduce cancer mortality and promote the well-being of patients.

Our research goals include:

1. To conduct basic and clinical research
2. To develop innovative cancer prevention and treatment
3. To promote educational training of cancer prevention and treatment
4. To integrate the interdepartmental and interdisciplinary research in the university and to enhance international cooperation
5. To provide consult to the government and organizations and to conduct entrusted projects or plans

Center organization

 

Led by Director, Dr. Kou-Juey Wu, and under the advice of several renowned researchers, TMS is divided into three groups: 1) basic research (led by Vice Director Yun-Luen Yu), 2) clinical trials (led by Vice Director Chang-Fang Chiu), and 3) translational research (led by Director Kou-Juey Wu), whose goals are:

1. Basic and translational groups: Based on the fruitful and outstanding achievements of CMU, we will continue in-depth research on basic biological sciences (including studies in cancer metastasis and cancer stem cells, etc.) and further expand our research results into the area of translational medicine for more medicinal application.
2. Clinical Trial group: To follow the new-drug regulations and guidelines of the government, our research focuses on three directions, “effective cancer prevention,” “precise early diagnosis,” and “novel targeted therapies.” We will conduct bench-to-bedside studies and promote novel detections and targeted therapies in clinical trials.

Institution highlights

TMS aims to play a leading role in the following areas in cancer research: Cancer Metastasis (EMT, etc), Microenvirnoment, Cancer Stem cells, Epigenetics, Bioinformatics, etc in Taiwan. Through translating basic research into clinical research, TMS is dedicated to developing effective strategies for cancer prevention and treatment and to improve the well-being of cancer patients. Our translational research will focus on the development of novel cancer treatments in Taiwan. Our basic research will identify novel targets related to metastasis and drug resistance. These targets can be used as novel biomarkers for diagnosis and novel anti-cancer drug targets for treatment. These areas will definitely accelerate the development of targeted therapy and personalized medicine.

Research Topics

1. Hypoxia-induced epigenetics and post-translational modification in tumorigenesis
2. Development of biological markers for head-and-neck cancers, of novel drugs and targeted therapy
3. New molecule-based targeted therapy for lung cancer, development of CAD and low-dose LDCT
4. Studies on breast cancer stem cells and combination therapies
5. Development of novel targeted therapy and immunotherapy by autologous dendritic cells for malignant gliomas
6. Clinical studies on docetaxel-induced metastatic castration-resistance prostate cancers (mCRPC) using Cabazitaxel combined with Prednisone
7. Phase III clinical trials comparing the effects of capecitabine monotherapy v.s. vinflunine + capecitabine combination therapy on patients with late-stage breast cancers who had taken anthracycline and taxane analogues
8. Dose-escalation studies of BI836845 on late-stage cancer patients
9. Random and open Phase III trials comparing the effects of combination therapy: NC-6004 and Gemcitabine v.s. Gemcitabine monotherapy on patients for locally advanced and metastatic pancreatic patients

Future Perspectives

TMS will integrate the resources among each institution (including on-campus, off-campus, and international ones) and our perspectives include:

1. Academic level: to build a distinguished team
   Our studies will primarily focus on four cancers, which include breast cancer, brain tumor, head-and-neck cancer, and pancreatic cancer. We aim at publishing the results in international journals with high quality, thereby becoming a world-class basic and translational medicine research center for cancer and .transform CMU into a top cancer research university.
2. Industrial research and development level: to cooperate with the translational medicine group
   To follow the new-drug regulations and guidelines of the government, our research focuses on three directions, “effective cancer prevention,” “precise early diagnosis,” and “novel targeted therapies.” We will conduct bench-to-bedside studies and promote novel detections and targeted therapies in clinical trials. We anticipate that these endeavors will help us become a world-class clinical trial center in this country and aids the set-up and development of medical industries.
3. Social responsibility level: to apply the research results to clinical trial team
   We proactively cultivate talents with expertise at each level, including basic, translational medicine, and clinical researches. These scientists will accelerate the industrialization of medical research. With cancer control policy, early diagnosis, and novel targeted therapy, we hope that the incidence of cancer will be reduced and the survival rate of cancer patients will be prolonged. This is the social responsibility of a medical university and we will try our best to fulfill it.