Surgery is the main form of treatment used in the cure of esophageal cancer. At the NCIS, we have a Upper Gastrointestinal (UGI) tumour multidisciplinary team (MDT) comprising of surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nurse clinicians and research nurses. The team is dedicated to optimising the level of care for our patients at the clinical level. This is done through weekly MDT meetings for discussions on patient conditions and how to provide the best treatment support for our patients with expert opinions from various cancer specialists.
The care for our patients does not stop after the treatments are administered. At the NCIS, the patients and family members are educated on how to cope and manage the illness through our Cancer Suvivorship Programme.
In order to constantly provide the most effective treatment options and improve the disease outcome, our team is active in conducting many clinical trials and have initiated several studies involving different centres and countries across the region.
In 2007, the National University Health System (NUHS) established the Singapore Gastric Cancer Consortium (SGCC) from a translational Research flagship grant under the National Medical Research Council (NMRC). To keep abreast on activities conducted by the SGCC, click here.
For novel therapy, our researchers have established a real-time genomic platform which provides a molecular classification that can predict both prognosis and drug responses. In addition, through the use of multiple gene expression platforms, this has led to the identification of new therapeutic targets that allow for specific targeted therapy. In addition, our researchers have also identified esophageal cancer stem cells aiding in the understanding of the cancer biology and the development of new treatment processes. To find out more about the findings, click here.
At the NCIS, we strongly believe that it is important to provide patients and their family members with an environment where they can seek psychological, educational and therapeutic support. At the NCIS, we offer a range of Cancer Survivorship Programme to provide a platform for esophageal cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers to come together and share their experiences with one another in their fight against esophageal cancer alongside the support from our surgeons, oncologists, nurses and allied health workers.
Interactive activities are also organised regularly to allow our patients to feel at ease in communicating with others which in turn encourages mutual sharing and support in the process.
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