Indian centres sign MoU with Singaporean research institutes

Singapore, May 30 (UNI) The Kerala-based Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology have jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) for further studies on head and neck cancers.

The three institutions would carry out research on how to detect oral cancers earlier and more effectively through novel drugs, and embark on a joint trial to test a new drug for oral cancers, according to Singapore-based media reports today.

Mouth and larynx cancers are among the top four cancers affecting Singaporean men of Indian origin and are the number cancers in India.

As per MoU, signed yesterday, the multi-centre collaboration would allow the three centres to tap into one another's expertise and look into why there is a ''significant proportion'' of oral cancers in young people who have little or no exposure to tobacco, betel nut or alcohol -- the most common causes of oral cancer.

The studies would also focus on how to increase survival rates for those whose oral cancers were detected early, since nearly 30 per cent of them suffer from relapses and treatment failure.

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