Roche and the Medical Service Administration sign an MoU for improved liver cancer’s prevention and management

Liver cancer is the leading cancer type in Vietnam in terms of both morbidity and mortality, with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) being the main cause. The cooperation programme, called Live Longer, was signed to increase awareness and build capacity in diagnosis, treatment, prediction, and management of liver cancer.

The leading cancer type in Vietnam

Liver cancer is the most prominent type of cancer in Vietnam, with hepatocellular carcinoma accounting for as many as 90 percent of cases. According to a Globocan report (2020), there were around 26,500 incidences of liver cancer a year in previous years, accounting for 14.5 percent of all cancers. Liver cancer also leads in mortality rates with over 25,270 cases, accounting for 21 percent of the total number of cancer deaths, 3.8 times higher than the 6,700 lives claimed by traffic accidents in 2020.

The earliest clinical symptoms of liver cancer are often atypical and easily missed. The progression of the disease can take up to 30 years. Therefore, liver cancer is difficult to detect early as people lack a habit of going for regular screening due to low awareness.

In Vietnam, most patients are detected at a late stage when they cannot be operated on. Routine liver cancer screening every six months for high-risk groups could drastically improve detection and survival rates alike. Curative treatments for early-stage liver cancer such as liver resection or liver transplant significantly improve the patient’s chances of survival.

Local interventions such as radiofrequency ablation to destroy the tumour are only possible at the intermediate stage and unable to be used at the metastatic stage. Local interventions, systemic therapies, targeted medicines or, most recently, immunotherapy have also been shown to prolong survival in late-stage patients.

Therefore, raising public awareness for early screening and improving medical capacity as well as patient access to the most appropriate and advanced therapies at each stage are effective solutions in the prevention and treatment of liver cancer.

Public-private partnership to improve liver cancer’s prevention and control

To solve the greatest challenges of liver cancer, the Medical Service Administration (MSA) and Roche Vietnam signed the MoU to implement the Live Longer programme for high-risk patients in the country.

The programme will be implemented by MSA as the managing unit, with Roche Vietnam as the companion unit, and in cooperation with the Department of Health Insurance under the MoH, the Vietnam Association for Study of Liver Disease (VASLD), and six hospitals, including K hospital, Bach Mai, Hanoi Oncology hospital, HCM University Medical Center, HCMC Oncology hospital and Cho Ray hospitals.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Minister of Health shared, “Cancers, especially liver cancer, are a leading threat to human health and life. The Live Longer cancer management programme will be an important piece of the MoH’s strategy for managing liver diseases and the National Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases and Mental Health Disorders for the next five years.”

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Truong Son, Deputy Minister of Health shared the Live Longer cancer management programme will be an important piece of the MoH’s strategy for managing liver diseases and the National Plan for Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, director of MSA emphasised, “To prevent and treat liver cancer effectively and sustainably, we need cross-stakeholder cooperation, especially involving the private sector and healthcare partners. The partnership signed today will make a positive contribution towards raising disease awareness for early prevention as well as improving the capacity of liver cancer treatment.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, director of MSA emphasised the partnership signed today will make a positive contribution towards raising disease awareness for early prevention as well as improving the capacity of liver cancer treatment

Lennor Carrillo, general director at Roche Vietnam shared, “As a leading pharmaceutical group, Roche is committed to helping patients in accessing advanced therapies in Vietnam. During its nearly three decades of operation in Vietnam, Roche has joined hands with the government, hospitals, and physicians to improve the healthcare system through a variety of activities.”

Carillo added, “We are pleased to continue to accompany the medical industry in this new project for liver cancer patients in Vietnam. We believe that the project, when officially put into operation, will create a solid foundation for improving the quality of life and survival time for liver cancer patients in Vietnam.”

Lennor Carrillo, general director at Roche Vietnam, said the project, when officially put into operation, will create a solid foundation for improving the quality of life and survival time for liver cancer patients in Vietnam

The Live Longer programme will be implemented with the following main components and goals:

1. Increasing awareness of liver cancer for the public, including people at high risk in the midterm and the general population in the long term.

2. Contributing to improving the efficiency of liver cancer diagnosis and treatment for medical facilities, including improving screening, policies to support professional activities, and guidance on the treatment of liver cancer; as well as developing criteria to operate and evaluate the effectiveness of multimodal operations.

3. Enhancing access to systemic treatment for liver cancer patients with innovative treatments.

The objectives related to health capacity building are focused on the six participating hospitals. Depending on the actual situation and effectiveness, MSA will decide whether to expand the programme to more medical facilities.