The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center formalized an ongoing relationship by signing a collaboration agreement last week.
The signing marks the first agreement between the China CDC and a U.S. cancer research center.
The agreement — a memorandum of understanding — provides a framework for scientific research and training projects that support and contribute to the prevention, early detection, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer, infectious diseases, and related health conditions in China and the United States.
The collaboration was made official during a signing ceremony this morning at the Hutchinson Center, involving China CDC Director General Yu Wang, M.D., and incoming Hutchinson Center President and Director Larry Corey, M.D.
Hutchinson Center and University of Washington faculty have since 2003 worked with Chinese health authorities on collaborative HIV/AIDS projects, including vaccine clinical trials and research on a small population of HIV-infected persons known as “HIV controllers.”
These are patients whose long-term infections never progress to AIDS despite not taking antiretroviral medications. In addition, Hutchinson Center faculty members have been involved in discussions with Chinese scientists in a variety of studies on breast, gastrointestinal, and lung cancers in China.
In 2009, a group of Hutchinson Center and University of Washington statisticians and researchers helped the China CDC analyze an outbreak of a novel and potentially deadly strain of hand, foot, and mouth disease called EV71. This collaboration laid the foundation for the expansion and consolidation of the formal partnership between the Hutchinson Center and the China CDC.
EV71 is among the subjects of a science symposium attended by the Chinese delegation. Other topics include tuberculosis and early detection of cancer, with an initial emphasis on gastrointestinal cancer.♦
For more information, visit fhcrc.org.