The Ministry of Education (MoE) Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology ( FSCPO) held the online seminar “Patient Derived Organoids (PDOs) and Their Applications in Precision Oncology” on 8 June. The event attracted over 170 experts, scholars, and researchers.
The keynote speaker, Prof. Chuxia DENG, who is Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) of the University of Macau (UM) and Chief Scientist of FSCPO, pointed out that cancer is the leading cause of human death worldwide. Therefore, there is a need to conduct comprehensive and in-depth cancer research in Macao.
Prof. Deng’s research team is in the process of building up a cancer bank for several major tumors in Macau and conducting research on them. They have established a variety of technologies, such as DNA sequencing, gene transcriptomics, proteomics, epigenetics, metabolomics, bioinformatics analysis, and in vitro and in vivo experimental platforms. Meanwhile, they have been conducting drug sensitive test on patient derive organoids (PDOs) on some tumors in order to identify targeted high-efficiency drugs and give this information to the partner hospitals to help the development of tailor-made personalized treatment plans. Their long-term goal is to establish effective cancer prevention and treatment systems through cooperation with hospitals in Macau and greater bay areas, and contribute to prolonging the healthy lifespan of people.
The seminar provided a platform for academics and researchers from Greater Bay Area and other areas to share knowledge, have technical discussions openly, and stimulate new ideas. The seminar ended with fruitful discussions.
UM has officially received approval from the central government to establish the Frontiers Science Center for Precision Oncology at the end of 2020. It is the first cutting-edge scientific research centre in Hong Kong and Macao, and focuses on the prevention, occurrence, and metastasis of cancer cells, as well as drug resistance and other major issues related to common cancers in Macao. The centre carries out cutting-edge scientific research in four areas: cancer occurrence and development, tumour microenvironment and immune regulation, cancer metastasis and mechanisms of drug resistance, as well as efficient drug development and personalised cancer medicine.
Prof. Chuxia DENG conducted a presentation about cancer research in the online seminar