Establishing the Vietnam Center of Research Excellence on Cancer and Other Noncommunicable Diseases (V-CORE): Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

PURPOSE Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including cancer, have emerged as a major public health problem in Vietnam; however, NCD research in Vietnam is limited, primarily because of inadequate research infrastructures, funding, and well-trained investigators. To address these challenges, we established a US-Vietnam-China partnership to plan for building the V-CORE (Vietnam Center of Research Excellence on Cancer and Other Noncommunicable Diseases) with the support of a grant from the US National Cancer Institute. The objectives of this program are to assess the need and current NCD research capabilities and infrastructure in Vietnam and to develop and pilot test research capacity building/enrichment programs, including conducting two research projects for demonstration. METHODS AND RESULTS Through a need- and capacity-assessment workshop, with participation of stakeholders in NCD research and prevention in Vietnam, we identified top priorities and gaps and needs in cancer and other NCD research in Vietnam. We organized two site visits for Vietnam National Cancer Institute delegates to observe epidemiologic research field operations, core laboratories, and biorepositories at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Vanderbilt Epidemiology Center, as well as at several partner institutes in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. We organized an in-country workshop on the principles and methodology of epidemiology and biostatistics. We sponsored overseas training for 4 Vietnamese scholars. We conducted two demonstration projects: a case-control study involving 501 patients with breast cancer and 468 controls, and a community survey for diabetes and other metabolic conditions involving 1,035 urban and rural residents of Vietnam. We also jointly sponsored with Vietnam National Cancer Institute an international conference on cancer research and prevention in 2017, and jointly published 11 papers. CONCLUSION Within a 3-year period, we have built a productive collaborative network and laid a solid foundation for building the V-CORE in Vietnam. We strive to maintain and expand the collaboration and bring the success of the National Cancer Institute grant work to full fruition.