Medical Professionals Version - National Cancer Centre Singapore

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PAGE A2 In Other Words FOR THE LOVE OF SCIENCE SALUBRIS July / August 2009 DANIEL TAN speaks about his passion for science which led him to his research into how targeted drug works in nasopharyngeal cancer. CAROL ANG reports. Recently, the Department of Medical Oncology welcomed back two doctors. Amongst them is Dr Daniel Tan, who had been away for a nine-month fellowship programme in the UK. He is the second doctor to return from overseas, the first this year being Dr Ng Quan Sing. Five other doctors, namely, Dr Lynette Ngo, Dr John Chia, Dr Richard Quek, Dr Wong Nan Soon and Dr Ang Mei-Kim are still overseas and not due to return till 2010. Dr Tan is the first oncologist from Singapore to be conferred the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Cancer Foundation. This award provides funding to promising investigators planning an investigative career in clinical oncology. Recalling fondly his stint overseas, Dr Tan revealed, “In my second year of study at St Bartholomew’s and The Royal London Hospital, we had 8-week elective projects – ranging from library-based to lab-based ones – and out of curiosity, I picked the latter and ended up in the then Imperial Cancer Research Fund at Lincoln’s Inn Fields. I was fortunate to have a very good mentor who showed me how research can challenge scientific dogma, with the aim of making a difference in patient care.” Dr Tan’s enthusiasm for knowledge was so great that he even took a year out to do an intercalated BSc degree in tumour biology. It is precisely this investigative spirit and an avid interest in making new discoveries that has brought Dr Tan to his current vocation as oncologist and clinician-scientist at the NCCS. Nursing a passion for Science since he was a child, Dr Tan knew his dream job would be one that allows him to apply knowledge in a practical meaningful way. “Medicine provided the right mix of human interaction and applied science,” he said. And, at the age of 16, Dr Tan started medical school in London and now holds BSc (Hons), MBBS and MRCP qualifications. He returned in 2002 to be enrolled into national service where he spent a year in the Diving Medicine Section. In 2004, Dr Tan joined SingHealth, and undertook the rotations through various departments as a medical officer at the Singapore General Hospital. Three years later, he began his career in oncology but took off again shortly on a National Medical Research Council Fellowship to the Drug Development Unit of The Royal Marsden Hospital, a leading cancer centre in the UK, with full support and encouragement from the NCCS. For this, he gratefully acknowledges the medical oncology department for creating a highly conducive environment for personal development, where peers and seniors work towards a common goal to deliver better care and treatment options to patients – and early phase trials may be a way forward. “During my nine months there, I learnt how to innovate the design of Phase I trials, care for participating patients, as well as interact with pharmaceutical companies and collaborating overseas Phase I units in Europe and US. It was also quite an experience prescribing novel drugs available at the unit, knowing well that some of them might become the standard of care in the next five to 10 years.” He further recounted that some patients could be seen to benefit even in the context of Phase I trials, which are traditionally regarded as dose titration experimental studies. “In the era of targeted therapy, and non-invasive molecular platforms, there is now scope to rationally improve the chances of patient benefit from novel drugs, as well as gain insight to basic tumour biology.”
PAGE A3 In Other Words SALUBRIS July / August 2009 “Despite the slew of exciting drugs coming through, we remain cautiously optimistic, and at the end of the day, patient care and safety remains the priority.“ Dr Daniel Tan However, beyond the high tech translational science, he added “I would say I still derived the greatest satisfaction treating patients and seeing them get better. Some of the patients I met at the hospital were also refreshingly enlightened. They participated in trials with the hope of helping others even though there was a chance that it would not benefit them,” he added. As the Young Investigator Award is given to applicants during their transition from a fellowship programme to a faculty appointment, it was shortly before he returned to Singapore that he received this honour. “I am glad that the proposal came through the peer-review process and was selected for funding by a highly regarded international scientific body. The most satisfying part is to have articulated an idea in the proposal and have someone take it seriously to the extent of providing funding, all in good faith,” he said. The grant from the award would go into his research on ‘Delineating Clinically Relevant Targets of Anti-Angiogenic Small Molecule Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma’. “To put that simply, I am trying to understand why resistance develops in drugs targeting blood vessels, as well as find out how they work in nasopharyngeal cancer which affects about 400 Singaporeans each year,” he explained. Now that Dr Tan is back, the clinicianscientist has to divide his time between the NCCS-VARI Laboratory, where he works with his mentor Prof Teh Bin Tean, and the clinic where he sees patients suffering from a range of different tumour types. Dr Tan was upfront about his role as an oncologist. “At first, I had reservations about a lifelong career in oncology. But I soon found it to be both a privilege and an extremely fulfilling undertaking to care for cancer patients.” Indeed for someone who is developing new drugs in oncology, Dr Tan remains circumspect on the role of a physician. “Despite the slew of exciting drugs coming through, we remain cautiously optimistic, and at the end of the day, patient care and safety remains the priority. Hopefully, our research efforts will shed some light to the current gaps in understanding cancer, and ultimately translate to improved care for patients.” Off work, this 31-year-old is on a constant quest to discover new gastronomic highs. He regularly goes for runs, waxes lyrical about wine together with good friends, and challenges himself to a therapeutic game of golf, when time avails. By Carol Ang
Page 1: Issue No. 05 • MICA (P) 207/10/20
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Page 11 and 12: WHERE DID YOUR FINGERPRINTS GO? PAG

Medical Professionals Version - National Cancer Centre Singapore

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