For the limited human and financial resources, The NICR decided to focus and launch disease-oriented translational study programs of prevalent cancers in Taiwan since 2008. We expanded the targeted tumor types of oral cancer study group to include squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, the esophagus and the lung, and named Upper Aerodigestive Tract Cancer Study Group in 2015. In addition, we still continued the experimental therapeutics study programs. Furthermore, we established TCGM (Translational Center for Glandular Malignancies), which focuses on “future important cancers in Taiwan”. We also built up the cancer bioinformatics core to support of NICR researchers, and continuously relies on Taiwan Corporation Oncology Group (TCOG) to execute multi-institute clinical studies.
The uniqueness of NICR is the tight collaborations between the in-house physicians and basic scientists focusing on translational medicine to develop novel technology/strategies to improve cancer diagnosis and treatment. We explore the tumor biology, identify diagnostic, predictive and/or prognostic marker, and evaluate the efficacies and adverse events of international, standard treatment regiments so as to develop novel therapy for our own prevalent cancers. The NICR physicians have expertise for investigator/industry-initiated phase I to III clinical trials for new drug and new indication development for not only daily patient care but also promoting the growth and advances of domestic pharmaceutical industrials. We have also established close partnership with certain national and international investigators or institutes.
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