Two National Cancer Centre
Singapore (NCCS)-led research
programmes have received a
$50 million boost in funding
as part of the Open Fund-
Large Collaborative Grant
(OF-LCG) programme from the National
Medical Research Council (NMRC),
Ministry of Health. The two research
programmes — SYMPHONY 2.0 and
Colo-SCRIPT — comprised of multiinstitution
teams, were each awarded
$25 million for research on lymphoma
and colorectal cancer (CRC) respectively.
In the fight against cancer, there is
emerging evidence that challenges a
traditional homogeneous treatment model.
More researchers are uncovering that cancer
behaves uniquely in each patient, influencing
its progression and response to therapy.
SYMPHONY 2.0
SYMPHONY 2.0 (Singapore Lymphoma
Translational Study 2.0) is an ambitious
endeavour leveraging emerging technologies
to combat blood cancers. The initiative has
three primary objectives. First, to develop
an AI-driven platform capable of identifying
optimal multi-drug combinations for
patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) T cell
lymphomas and aggressive B cell lymphoma.
Second, to improve accessibility to CAR-T
cell therapy, a promising but currently
expensive treatment option. Finally, to
centralise patient data for research by
establishing a Lymphoma Atlas.
The team behind SYMPHONY 2.0
has already made significant strides in
establishing Singapore as a hub for blood
cancer research, with a particular focus on
blood cancers that are more prevalent in
Asian populations. Their work is crucial, as
these Asian-centric lymphomas are often
underrepresented in international studies.
One of the team’s key focus areas is
Natural Killer/T cell lymphoma, an
aggressive form of blood cancer
that accounts for 15–20 per cent
of lymphoma cases in Asia.
By addressing this and other Asian-centric
lymphomas, the researchers aim to fill a critical
gap in global cancer research and treatment.
Professor Lim Soon Thye, CEO and
Senior Consultant, NCCS, likens the project
to an orchestra, with multidisciplinary
specialists and researchers from various
institutions — including NCCS, the Agency
for Science, Technology and Research
(A*STAR), and the Cancer Science Institute
of Singapore — harmonising their efforts to
advance cancer research.
Colo-SCRIPT
From 2017 to 2021, there were over 12,000
new CRC cases in Singapore, making it
the most common type of cancer affecting
men and women here. New evidence from
patient sample and research data collected
by members of the Colo-SCRIPT team shows
that early CRC lesions and advanced tumours
may be grouped into distinct subtypes.
Associate Professor Tam Wai Leong,
Deputy Executive Director, A*STAR’s
Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS),
and the Scientific Chair of Colo-SCRIPT,
said: “It’s increasingly clear that colorectal
cancer is composed of distinct molecular
subtypes; therefore, patients need to be
managed and treated differently. The onesize-
fits-all approach should no longer be
the way forward. By better understanding
the underlying mechanisms of the complex
disease, we will have an opportunity for early
intervention to interrupt disease progression
and eventually develop tailored treatment
strategies that are more effective for patients.”
The colorectal cancer research
programme will be a first-of-its-kind study that spans pre-cancer to advanced
cancer, according to Associate Professor
Iain Tan, Clinical Chair and Corresponding
Principal Investigator, Colo-SCRIPT.
The Senior Consultant in the Division of
Medical Oncology, NCCS, and Goh Hak Su
Professor in Colorectal Surgery, said:
“We have brought together Singapore’s
leading clinicians and scientists in colorectal
cancer to pioneer a subtype-specific
paradigm to find ways to effectively and
efficiently prevent, diagnose and treat it.”
The first national CRC research
programme will recruit 20,000 patients with
early-stage CRC to develop new subtypespecific
diagnostic methods and investigate
the influence of genetic, environmental,
metabolic and microbial risk factors. Through
this, the team hopes to establish a pre-cancer
atlas of medical knowledge and develop a
novel non-invasive CRC detection test.
The team will then study 1,000 patients with
advanced CRC to build a biospecimen repository
and extensively profile different tumour
subtypes. The aim is to identify and bring new
drugs to clinical trial for improved treatment
outcomes in patients with advanced CRC.
“We hope to find new ways of treating this
group of patients, moving forward. Our
multidisciplinary team will leverage their
scientific expertise, as well as their clinical
expertise in identifying and recruiting patients,
to understand disease through patient samples,
and apply both to uncover novel translational
diagnostics and therapeutics,” said Colo-SCRIPT
co-investigator, Professor Emile Tan, Head and
Senior Consultant, Department of Colorectal
Surgery, Singapore General Hospital and NCCS.
Get the latest updates about Singapore Health in your mailbox! Click here to subscribe.