Singapore, 13th July 2017 – Singapore will host the 8th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert (APPLE) Meeting, from 14-16 July 2017 at the Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel. The Ministry of Health’s Director of Medical Services Associate Professor Benjamin Ong will officiate the opening ceremony of the event. APPLE is a multi-disciplinary specialist organisation dedicated to the advancement of research and patient care for primary liver cancer (also known as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC)). This is the first time APPLE is holding its annual meeting in Singapore.

The 8th APPLE meeting will also be the venue for the first public presentation in Asia of the Phase III multi-centre open-label randomised controlled trial of selective internal radiation therapy versus sorafenib in locally advanced HCC – The SIRveNIB trial. This research is supported by the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council (NMRC) under its Clinician Scientist Award – Senior Investigator (NMRC/CSA/020/2010) and MOH Industry Alignment Fund (IAF) Category 1 grant (NMRC/MOHIAFCat1/0031/2015). This pivotal liver cancer trial was conducted under the auspices of the Asia-Pacific Hepatocellular Carcinoma (AHCC) trials group and will be presented by the trial lead Professor Pierce Chow, a senior consultant surgeon and Co-Director (Surgical) of the Comprehensive Liver Cancer Clinic (CLCC) at the National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS). He is also a Professor and Course Director at the Duke-NUS Medical School.

The results of the trial were first presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Conference in Chicago on 4th June. The SIRveNIB trial demonstrated that an alternative palliative treatment for locally advanced liver cancer gave similar clinical outcomes to other treatments but with fewer adverse effects for patients.

Associate Professor Toh Han Chong, Deputy Director at NCCS and the Scientific Chair of the 8th APPLE meeting said, “That APPLE is held in Singapore this year, attests to the reputation of Singapore as a place where robust clinical and translational research in Liver Cancer is conducted. It is especially pertinent that Liver Cancer research in Singapore is strongly collaborative and multi-disciplinary. For example the NMRC funded Flagship TCR Programme in Liver Cancer involves all major institutions in Singapore. This augurs well for patients with Liver Cancer”.

A strong line-up of international speakers will present research on liver cancer to share insights on a whole spectrum of challenges from a developing nation perspective such as Myanmar to that of a first world country like Japan. And from China, a perspective of the problems faced by a populous nation. Cutting-edge data on the genomics and immunomics of HCC and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) as an emerging cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) will also be presented.

Experts in HCC will also be holding consensus workshops to address current challenges in Transplantation, Systemic Therapy, Local-Regional Therapy, Robotic Resection and Radiation therapy for HCC.

The organisers of the conference are NCCS and the Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert (APPLE) Association. For more information, please visit https://www.applesg2017.com/

Editors are cordially invited to send reporter/photograph to interview some of Asia’s top experts on HCC, and get an update on the inroads made in tackling this cancer.

Opening of the 8th Asia-Pacific Primary Liver Cancer Expert Meeting

Date: 14th July 2017, Friday
Time: 12.00pm – 2.30pm
Venue: Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, Level 4

Programme:

About National Cancer Centre Singapore

National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) provides a holistic and multi-disciplinary approach to cancer treatment and patient care. We treat almost 70 per cent of the public sector oncology cases, and they are benefiting from the sub-specialisation of our clinical oncologists. NCCS is also accredited by the US-based Joint Commission International for its quality patient care and safety. To deliver among the best in cancer treatment and care, our clinicians work closely with our scientists who conduct robust cutting-edge clinical and translational research programmes which are internationally recognised. NCCS strives to be a global leading cancer centre, and shares its expertise and knowledge by offering training to local and overseas medical professionals. www.nccs.com.sg

For more information, please contact:

National Cancer Centre Singapore
Ms Rachel Tan
Manager, Corporate Communications
Office: 6236 9535
Email: rachel.tan.c.h@nccs.com.sg

Ms Gillian Tan
Senior Executive, Corporate Communications
Office: 6236 9529
Email: gillian.tan@nccs.com.sg