Researchers urged to focus on cancer treatment

The 36th scientific meeting held between officials of the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) and King Faisal Specialized Hospital (KFSH) ended on Thursday with a call on all consultants and researchers to invest their expertise and their research alliance with civil society organizations to enrich and support in improving the quality of service standards in the treatment of breast cancer.
The meeting was held under the patronage of Princess Haifa bint Faisal, chairman of the Zahra Breast Cancer Society in Riyadh. 
Princess Haifa said such efforts will go a long way in treating cancer patients successfully. 
She said the joint efforts by the KACST and the KFSH signifies the commitment of these responsible organizations toward the welfare of the cancer patients. “Such partnerships build bridges between two important organizations for the cause of the nation,” she said. 
“Breast cancer is the most common among women in most countries of the world compared to other types, and there are international efforts to fight against the disease,” Vice President of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology support scientific research, Dr. Abdulaziz bin Mohammed Al- Suwailem said, adding that the Kingdom has been paying its utmost attention to cancer diseases by trying to reduce its incidence through various measures. 
He also said that breast cancer if detected early, could be cured fully.
Al-Suwailem said that the KACST focused on the support of scientific research on various types of cancer. It has supported 299 research projects at a cost of more than SR300 million for several types of cancers, including blood, lymphoma, colorectal cancer, bone marrow cancer, thyroid cancer, cervical, ovarian, and breast cancer.
The Department of Oncology, founded in 1982 at KFSH , now consists of 4 clinical sections: Medical Oncology, Radiation Oncology, Adult Hematology/Oncology & Bone Marrow Transplantation, and Palliative Care. In addition, the Research & Development section provides clinical research services for the department and hospital. Multidisciplinary oncology clinics are held regularly: adult and pediatric neuro-oncology clinics, gastroenterology cancer clinic, combined esophagus cancer clinic, combined breast clinic, combined sarcoma clinic and combined head and neck clinics. The department is actively involved in institutional, national and international research protocols, with priority given to those addressing national oncology problems.
There are 103 inpatient beds and 70 outpatient clinics per week. Over 2,700 new patients are admitted to the department each year, along with 60,000 outpatient encounters, 67,211 radiation portals and 78 bone marrow and peripheral stem cell transplantations annually.