newsletter Issue 1/2015 May 2015 Clinical Trial Collaboration in ASIA What’s Next? pg 6 Remembering Dr Wu Lien-Teh A Public Health Hero pg 10 IN THIS ISSUE Words from the Editor pg2 Chit Chat: Why I do Research pg8 Notices & Achievements pg2 In the Spotlight: Remembering Dr Wu Lien-Teh pg10 Research Illustrated pg3 CRC in Retrospect: Sabah pg14 Research Personality: Prof John Chan Kok Meng pg5 Highlights pg16 Up-Close & Personal: Anthony Nguyen pg6 Words from the Editor Research METERING SELF-REPORTED ADHERENCE TO CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN MALAYSIAN PATIENTS WITH HYPERTENSION: APPLYING THE STAGES OF It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome you to the first issue of the newsletter for CHANGE MODEL TO HEALTHFUL BEHAVIORS IN THE CORFIS STUDY 2015. How time flies! The National Conference of Clinical Research is again around the corner and I hope like the previous one, we continue to receive support and see greater Intervention group, n=209 : passion for research especially among the younger generation. Dietician counseling • Adherence to Na • Weight This issue commemorates the work done by Dr Wu Lien-Teh, a Penang-born reduction • Waist doctor who has contributed in the promotion of public health, preventive • Regular exercise circumference medicine and medical education. He was famously known as a plague fighter • > fruit & vegetable • Systolic BP • Multicenter quasi-experimental for his work in containing the terrifying pneumonic pandemic plague in China in 1910. He was also the first intake • Diastolic BP Illustrated design with Stages of Change Malayan nominated to receive the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1935. As a man who loved to read, Dr Wu (SOC) model Patients were collected donations to set up a free lending library in Ipoh, a town in Perak where he practiced as a General • Community clinics categorized into 3 Practitioner. To promote his legacy, the Wu Lien-Teh Society has set up a fund to award exceptional medical Control group, n=177 : • 6 months groups at 6 months Standard treatment researchers. The award will be presented for the first time to the Young Investigator and Best Poster winners in • 379 hypertensive patients the coming National Conference of Clinical Research 2015 in Penang. • Totally adherent (TA) In the Chit Chat section, we have two excellent young researchers to share their stories. We also secured • Newly adherent (NA) an interview with Anthony Nguyen, one of the initiators of The Regional Asian Clinical Trial Association (REACTA). We have also in this issue a special column to honour the outstanding work of Professor John Chan • Non-adherent (N-A) for receiving the Hunterian Professorship Award this year. Patient-reported compliance I’d like to recognize our editorial staff for their excellent work in maintaining and producing a quality newsletter. to these advocated healthful They are one of the inspiring lot of passionate CRC staffs who can do with a little time and a lot of commitment. behaviors yielded clinically Keep up the good work! beneficial reductions in blood pressure, weight and waist I hope that you will enjoy reading this issue. The newsletter will continue to be one of the vehicles for promoting circumference. research within the CRC family and beyond. Readers and CRC staffs are encouraged to contribute research- related news and announcements to the newsletter. We look forward to receiving your contributions. SOC application could be metered to behaviour change therapy that is linked to defined clinical endpoints and specific for multiple behaviours. Note: p value (Cohen’s d) Dr Goh Pik Pin Effect sizes were computed using Cohen’s d to compare magnitude of changes for each variable Editor-in-Chief Achievements Notice Board • BABE Accredited Sites • Visit by Pharmacogenomics Research Centre, Inje Penang Hospital has been added to the list of sites accredited by NPCB to run Professor Shin Jae-Gook visited the BABE trials CRCs in Penang and the research centres in USM and Infokinetics during his visit in April 2015. His visit brought possibilities of research collaborations between Malaysia and PGRC team with CRC staffs Korea in the near future. • MOSTI Research Grants For more information, visit http://www.crc.gov.my/wp-content/ Clinical trial ward CRC Penang uploads/documents/research_grants_by_mosti.pdf Source: Karupaiah T, Wong K, Chinna K, Arasu K, Chee WS. (2014). Metering Self-Reported Adherence to Clinical Outcomes in Malaysian Patients With Hypertension: Applying the Stages of Change Model to Healthful Behaviors in the CORFIS Study. Health Education and Behavior. 2 3 COFFEE AND TEA CONSUMPTION AND RISK OF PRE- AND POSTMENOPAUSAL BREAST CANCER IN THE EUROPEAN PROSPECTIVE Professor John Chan research INVESTIGATION INTO CANCER AND NUTRITION (EPIC) COHORT STUDY Kok Meng 1,064 premenopausal rofessor John the National Clinical Research Centre (NCRC) Overall or <50 yo Chan Kok Research Camps which are held about once 10,198 breast • Mean age at P n=335,060 Meng, Consultant a month in different parts of the country. cancer recruitment = 51 Participants in these camps present and years Cardiothoracic Surgeon discuss their research ideas and proposals with 9,134 • Median tea intake at the Sarawak General EPIC the facilitators who give them feedback and postmenopausal = 29ml/day Hospital Heart Centre, Cohort improve on their proposals. Mean follow-up or >=50 yo • Median coffee recently delivered the 1992- 11 years intake = 290ml/ prestigious Hunterian 2000 324,862 no Professor Chan also sits on the Technical 25-70 yo breast cancer day Lecture to the Society Committee of the NCRC, is a member of for Cardiothoracic the Medical Research and Ethics Committee Surgery (SCTS) at (MREC) of the Ministry of Health, and a Questionnaires Analyses Personality founding member of the Malaysian Network • self-administered semi-quantitative food-frequency • Multivariable Cox regression their annual meeting for Surgical Research (MyNETS), which seeks to promote • dietary history • Exit time: age at diagnosis as first tumor, death, in Manchester, UK. He received the Hunterian research in surgery. He is also a founding steering • semi-quatitative food-frequency emigration, loss to follow-up or end of follow-up Professorship Award from the Royal College of Surgeons of England. The Hunterian Professorship is committee member and is responsible for setting up the one of the highest accolades which the Royal College National Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgical Database of Surgeons of England can award and is given in (NCTSD) registry which collects cardiac surgical Premenopausal breast Postmenopausal breast ER+ and PR+ subtype ER- and PR- subtype activities in the country and its results and outcomes. cancer cancer breast cancer breast cancer recognition of outstanding contribution to research in surgery. He was also on the expert panel for coronary artery Moderately low intake Each 100ml increase in revascularisation which produced appropriate use criteria Professor Chan is the first Malaysian in more than associated with higher daily intake inversely guidelines on coronary artery bypass graft surgery and 40 years to receive the Hunterian Professorship while risk compared to low associated with risk percutaneous coronary interventions. No association No association working in Malaysia. His main research are in the fields Total coffee intake (adjusted HR (HR continuous 0.99, of mitral and tricuspid valve repair surgery and also in Professor Chan has authored numerous book chapters n=335,060 1.23, 95% CI 1.02 to 95% CI 0.98 to 0.99) aortic valve surgery, aortic surgery, coronary artery bypass and publications in scientific journals and is regularly 1.48) surgery, cardiopulmonary bypass and lung cancer surgery, invited to give lectures and presentations at national and amongst others. international meetings including in the USA, Europe and Asia. High intake associated For every 100ml higher For every 100ml higher He is actively involved in promoting and developing No association with lower risk intake, risk lowered by intake, risk lowered by research capacity in Malaysia in addition to his full compared to low intake 2% (adjusted HR 0.98, 4% (adjusted HR 0.96, time clinical work in the heart centre. He runs a weekly (adjusted HR 0.90, 95% 95% CI 0.96 to 0.99) 95% CI 0.93 to 1.00) research consultation clinic at the Sarawak General Caffeinated CI 0.82 to 0.98) Hospital Clinical Research Centre (CRC) where coffee individuals and teams can consult him about their n=226,368 research ideas and proposals and develop them into proper research studies. He is also a regular facilitator at Non-consumers Non-consumers No association associated with lower No association associated with lower risk compared to risk compared to those with low intake those with low intake Decaffeinated (adjusted HR 0.89, 95% (adjusted HR 0.69, 95% coffee CI 0.80 to 0.99) CI 0.50 to 0.94) n=176,373 No association No association No association No association Tea n=299,890 Source: Bhoo-Pathy N, Peeters PH, Uiterwaal CS, Bueno-de-Mesquita HB, Bulgiba AM, Bech BH. (2015). Coffee and tea consumption and risk of pre- and postmenopausal breast cancer in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohort study. Breast Cancer Research 17(1):15. 4 5 type of outdoor activities, such as hiking with my children, USA and Malaysia. In 2014, the attendees from 2013 of educational collaboration. For example, Malaysia’s surfing, running and cliff diving. I also enjoy cooking, so I returned to Busan for a second time to update us on CRM and CRC are the equivalent of Korea’s KoNECT, am a big fan of Malaysian foods and its amazing culture. their performance. DAUH shared its detailed business so there are lessons to be learned and shared. Another strategy and plans for 2015. This meeting was special, example would be joint training for future research teams Q: What is your responsibility at the Dong-A because it drew in more leaders from South Korea, (researchers, research coordinators and business strategy University Hospital Global Clinical Trial Centre? Singapore and the US.