Vietnamese Vinmec Medical System and Japan’s Kurume Chou Hospital have signed a co-operation agreement under which the Japanese hospital will transfer its new treatment for liver cancer to Vinmec. — Photo Vingroup

Vinmec Medical System and Japan’s Kurume Chou Hospital have signed a co-operation agreement under which the Japanese hospital will transfer its new treatment for liver cancer to Vinmec.

The new treatment, called System-I, uses super selective hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy.

With the exclusive technology from Japan, Vinmec continues to improve its multi-modal cancer treatment model, providing a comprehensive and advanced solution for patients.

Along with a few public hospitals, Vinmec is the first private hospital in Viet Nam to receive the System-I technology.

System-I was invented and registered in Japan by Professor Itano Satoshi, President of Kurume Chou Hospital. On the basis of the traditional hepatic artery infusion chemotherapy method, System-I adds an additional micro-catheter into another larger-size insert into the femoral artery or arm artery of the patient.

This innovation allows treatment chemicals to approach the liver tumor more closely, effectively destroying the tumor without affecting healthy liver tissues.

Since the application of the method, Kurume Chou Hospital has successfully treated more than 30,000 cases of primary liver cancer and metastatic liver cancer, helping to prolong the lives and improve quality of life for patients compared to other methods.

To transfer the System-I method to Vinmec, Kurume Chou Hospital will send doctors to Viet Nam to work, attend seminars and teach. At the same time, Kurume Chou will receive Vinmec doctors in Japan to study.

In parallel with the intensive training programme on liver cancer, Kurume Chou Hospital and Vinmec will co-operate to develop the capacity of doctors and nurses through training, academic research and potential research programmes.

“Vinmec is one of the most modern hospitals in Viet Nam today where doctors are always ready to approach advanced treatments. Therefore, after careful consideration, we decided to transfer the System-I technology to Vinmec,” said Professor Satoshi.

Cancer is one of the areas of focus for Vinmec Medical System. For liver cancer, Vinmec has applied most of the advanced treatment methods in the world such as liver transplantation, liver cutting surgery, radiofrequency ablation (RFA) and transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE). Vinmec has been a pioneer in Viet Nam in applying stem cell transplantation for cirrhosis with many positive results.

Phung Nam Lam, Deputy General Director of Vinmec Medical System, said: “With a new cancer treatment, Vinmec will complete the model of multi-modal treatment for liver cancer and provide patients with comprehensive treatment solutions with optimal effectiveness.”

Liver cancer is the second deadliest cancer in Viet Nam with about 25,000 cases a year. Vinmec's comprehensive co-operation with Kurume Chou Hospital not only contributes to realising the goal of providing international-standard medical services but also helps to bring the most advanced treatments in the world to Viet Nam. — VNS