Under the pressure of the increasingly rising cancer burden and the trend of younger cancer patients in Vietnam, the application of medical advances is no longer an option, but an urgent requirement to improve treatment effectiveness.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Dieu, President of the Vietnam Cancer Association, emphasized this information at the scientific workshop “Transforming Cancer Care in the Era of Precision Medicine: Promoting Innovation and Personalized Treatment” (Oncology Summit), organized by the Vietnam Cancer Association in collaboration with AstraZeneca Vietnam on April 11 in Hanoi.
The event brought together domestic and international experts to update scientific advances and promote implementation models with practical impact, such as digitized multidisciplinary consultations, liquid biopsy, and the application of artificial intelligence in pathological diagnosis, thereby supporting the development orientation of precision medicine and optimizing patient care.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Dieu, President of the Vietnam Cancer Association, stated that promoting precision medicine, with a focus on personalizing treatment regimens, opens a new era of healthcare based on evidence and the individual characteristics of each patient.
New Cancer Cases in Vietnam May Increase by 60–70% by 2050
Information presented at the conference showed that, according to GLOBOCAN 2022, Vietnam records approximately 180,000 new cancer cases and more than 120,000 cancer-related deaths each year. The age-standardized incidence and mortality rates are 150.8 and 99.0 per 100,000 people, respectively, reflecting the growing disease burden on the healthcare system and society as a whole.
The most common types of cancer include breast, liver, lung, colorectal, and stomach cancers. At the same time, a trend of younger patients has been observed in several cancers, such as breast cancer and colorectal cancer, creating new challenges in early screening, diagnosis, and treatment.
The context of population aging, rapid urbanization, and lifestyle changes such as smoking, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity are also considered contributing factors to the increase in cancer cases. Forecasts indicate that the number of new cancer cases in Vietnam may rise by 60–70% by 2050, highlighting the urgent need for national-scale strategies in prevention, early detection, and treatment optimization.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bui Dieu emphasized that promoting precision medicine, with a focus on personalizing treatment regimens, opens a new era of healthcare based on evidence and the individual characteristics of each patient.
According to Assoc. Prof. Bui Dieu, the key to this era lies in the implementation of advanced diagnostic techniques, such as liquid biopsy in molecular biology testing. In addition, the integration of digital data infrastructure and the application of artificial intelligence in diagnosis and monitoring are also powerful tools. These advances help improve clinical effectiveness for each individual patient and optimize the use of healthcare system resources.
Promoting Digitized Multidisciplinary Consultations and Liquid Biopsy
In terms of scientific content, the conference updated solutions that are shaping the future of oncology. Presentations focused on in-depth discussions about the role of multidisciplinary consultations, advances in biotechnology, and the application of AI.
Experts cited international studies showing that cancer patients may improve their overall survival by more than 15 months when digitized multidisciplinary consultations are applied in diagnosis and treatment, compared with cases where they are not applied.
However, there are several reasons why digitized multidisciplinary consultations have not yet become routine practice, including the lack of digital infrastructure, which causes data to remain fragmented. The solution shared by international experts is to implement digitized multidisciplinary consultation platforms that connect directly with electronic medical records to monitor treatment outcomes in real time.
According to Dr. Jomtana Siripaibun, Director of the Oncology Center at Chulabhorn Hospital, Thailand, digitized multidisciplinary consultation is a vital strategy in cancer treatment, and digital transformation is a mandatory condition for this model to operate sustainably.
“When implementing a digitized multidisciplinary consultation platform connected to clinical data, we observed more efficient case preparation processes and more complete and consistent treatment records. The important thing is to start with a priority disease group and a standardized consultation process with complete follow-up, gradually building system capacity for modern cancer care,” said Dr. Jomtana Siripaibun.
At the same time, the combination of liquid biopsy and artificial intelligence is expected to reshape the fields of molecular diagnostics and pathology. Instead of relying entirely on invasive tissue biopsy, liquid biopsy enables the analysis of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) to detect early signs of recurrence or drug resistance. In addition, when combined with AI, the diagnostic process becomes more consistent, faster, and better able to support biomarker quantification.
Dr. Chien-Feng Li delivers his remarks.
Dr. Chien-Feng Li, Head of the Department of Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Chi Mei Medical Center, and Adjunct Professor at the School of Medicine, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan, China, stated that advances in liquid biopsy and artificial intelligence are creating a landmark transformation in cancer diagnosis and treatment.
This is especially true when implemented through a multimodal diagnostic model that combines histological data, molecular data, liquid biopsy, and artificial intelligence to support precision medicine.
According to Dr. Chien-Feng Li, this approach helps select more appropriate treatments for each patient and optimize treatment and care effectiveness. To fully leverage this potential, investment in infrastructure and workforce training will be key factors for the healthcare system.