​Dr Mary Nheb from Cambodia and Dr Chen Wanwan from China with Assoc Prof Kenneth Chang in the pathology laboratory.

A regional Education and Exchange initiative is opening KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) training and education programmes to healthcare specialists from various countries, to advance expertise in care for children with brain and solid cancers.

Introduced under the VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour (PBST) Programme, the initiative is a first-of-its-kind in the region – providing in-house clinical training and education that is integrated into healthcare and research activities, with a particular focus on paediatric surgery and pathology.

“Treatment for paediatric brain and solid tumours is complex, and requires coordinated efforts from a whole team of diverse medical subspecialties. We found that many regional hospitals only had oncologists but may not have other specialists with the necessary expertise to care for children with brain and solid tumours,” shares Dr Amos Loh, Chairman, Steering Committee, VIVA-KKH PBST Programme, who is also Senior Consultant, Department of Paediatric Surgery, KKH.

“We realised we could benefit many other children by sharing the skills and knowledge of our experts in Singapore.”

Collaborating to Make a Difference to Children's Lives

Dr Huma Faiz Halepota works alongside Dr Amos Loh in the operating theatre.

Shares exchange fellow, Dr Huma Faiz Halepota, a consultant paediatric surgeon from The Indus Hospital, Pakistan, “Over the course of the fellowship, I have been exposed to both surgical and non-surgical competencies. I hope to apply these competencies in the hospital where I am practising back home in Pakistan, as well as develop protocols with affiliated hospitals to educate more doctors about standard of care and importance of multidisciplinary communication.”

Adds fellow training participant, Dr Mary Nheb, a pathologist from Calmette Hospital in Cambodia, “The training has inspired me to have a think about how I can train the pathology residents in Cambodia and even redesign the laboratory in our hospital to make sure it complies with certain standards such as safety standards and infection control precautions.”

To date, six fellows and observers from countries including Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar and Pakistan have benefited from the initiative since its commencement in September 2018.

“Providing collaborative, hands-on training in these niche areas can help to holistically advance complex and coordinated care for paediatric brain and solid tumours across diverse medical subspecialties, helping to improve the lives and future of more children across the region,” shares Associate Professor Kenneth Chang, Member, Steering Committee, VIVA-KKH PBST Programme and Head and Senior Consultant, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, KKH.

KKH, VIVA and St. Jude in the Fight Against Childhood Cancer

The VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour Programme pursues advancements in care for childhood brain and solid cancers through translational clinical research, as well as prevention, control and population-based science. Established in 2015, it leverages on the collective strengths and expertise of partner institutions, KKH, Viva Foundation for Children with Cancer (VIVA) and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (St. Jude), USA.

For more information about the VIVA-KKH Paediatric Brain and Solid Tumour Programme, click here.