Young doctor offers new solution in cancer treatment

"My research orientation is to be a pioneer - dare to think - dare to do" in the field of medical technology, emerging in piloting new technologies and solutions in the process of developing healthcare products with a strong Vietnamese imprint," said Dr. Nguyen Phuoc Vinh.

Passionate about health science

As a son of the sea, born and raised in Song Cau Town, Phu Yen , Mr. Vinh began pursuing his passion for health sciences at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Ho Chi Minh City under the French-language program sponsored by the Francophone University Organization AUF.

Immediately after graduating in 2017, Vinh received an excellent scholarship from the French Embassy in Vietnam to study for a second-year master's degree in pharmacy at the University of Paris-Sud (University of Paris-Saclay, Paris, France). Here, he had the opportunity to intern and write his master's thesis at the University of Bordeaux (France) on the topic "Solution to the problem of antibiotic resistance using gene therapy and nanotechnology". As a result, he has an international patent and 2 scientific articles published in international scientific journals in the Q1 category.

Dr. Nguyen Phuoc Vinh (left) and his colleagues at the Animal and Atomic Experiment Center in Nantes, France. PHOTO: NVCC

After completing his master's program in August 2018, in response to an offer from a large French pharmaceutical corporation in Vietnam as a factory manager, he decided to continue his doctoral studies at the University of Tours (France) under a scholarship program from the French Ministry of Universities and Research with a research topic on developing solutions to the problem of resistance to anti-cancer drugs that increase EGFR protein expression using a combination of gene therapy and nanotechnology.

Dr. Nguyen Phuoc Vinh received the title of Young Citizen of Ho Chi Minh City in 2024. PHOTO QUEEN

"After graduating with a PhD in early 2022 and experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic abroad, more than ever, I want to return and contribute to my sciences country in the field of health. And now, I am still pursuing solutions to the problem of drug resistance (antibiotics and cancer), focusing on Vietnamese patients," the young doctor shared.

New solutions in cancer treatment

Mr. Vinh said that unlike developed countries where patients can easily access new generation cancer drugs, Vietnamese patients not only face financial difficulties in covering treatment costs but more importantly, have difficulty accessing new generation drugs, especially targeted treatments. Therefore, young scientists like him need to promote domestic research and production to solve this situation.

That is also the reason why he always pursues solutions to the problem of drug resistance for Vietnamese patients.

And one of his typical works is the research and development of a nano-targeted therapy system for synergistic effects with chemotherapy in the treatment of cancer with increased EGFR expression. This research creates a potential solution to improve drug resistance as well as enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancer treatment.

According to Dr. Vinh, the rate of cancer patients is increasing and becoming one of the leading causes of death in the world . In the treatment of cancer using drugs, anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapy) are commonly used. However, the side effects of these drugs are extremely severe. In addition, drug resistance is also increasing, especially in developing countries, including Vietnam.

Mr. Vinh's research creates a potential solution to improve drug resistance as well as increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy in cancer treatment. PHOTO: NVCC

The author of this work says that the research has successfully developed a drug delivery nanosystem using gene technology in cancer treatment to act synergistically with chemotherapy drugs (cisplatin) in the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer and small cell lung cancer. The optimized drug nanosystem has been proven to have synergistic effects with cisplatin by reducing the required dose of cisplatin by 50% and has a specific effect on cancer cells. In addition, non-invasive monitoring measures through nuclear medicine have also been proven to be feasible on this drug nanosystem.

The work was published in 5 Q1 journals in the Scopus/SCIE category and won the 2022 Excellence Award in Pharmacology from the French Academy of Pharmacy.

Contribute to national development strategy

A teacher once told Vinh: if you dare to dream, you have already completed 50% of that dream. Therefore, he never stops dreaming. Before, he dreamed of setting foot on many new lands and he achieved it. Now, the young doctor dreams more about new horizons of knowledge, new methods and models to promote not only medical technology but more importantly, education in the field of health sciences. And he has also had admirable achievements in the journey to conquer this dream.

Currently, Vinh's team continues to research potential solutions to the problem of drug resistance. In particular, the team hopes to propose some potential solutions to this pressing problem in Vietnamese patients.

Regarding the direction of developing health care products, the research team will develop health care products from natural and endemic medicinal resources of Vietnam (in the area from the south of Bach Ma range and further south).

"By developing biologically derived drugs and advanced generics, the research team hopes to contribute to the strategy for developing Vietnam's pharmaceutical industry from now until 2030, with a vision to 2045, which has been approved by the Government. Special attention is paid to ensure medicine for people, increasing the level of autonomy of domestic pharmaceutical production, creating branded products and utilizing raw materials in Vietnam," Dr. Vinh confirmed.

Regarding the research direction of educational science, Mr. Vinh has followed the project on educational innovation in the field of health sciences (IMPACT-MED Project) since he first returned to Vietnam (in 2022) and has learned a lot about measures to design programs, teach and evaluate positively in the field of health sciences.

"I am currently participating in the PHER Project scholar exchange program sponsored by USAID at Harvard Medical School (USA) for 3 months. I hope to be able manner to contribute a small part to the training of health workers in a competency-based and learner-centered," Dr. Vinh hopes.

Achievements of Dr. Nguyen Phuoc Vinh

Received the Golden Globe Science and Technology Award 2024 from the Central Youth Union; the title of Outstanding Young Citizen of Ho Chi Minh City 2024; 1 international patent; 9 scientific articles published in international scientific journals in the Q1 category (7 articles as main author); 1 article in the Q2 category (co-author); 4 scientific articles published in domestic scientific journals (co-author); 2022 Excellence Award for Pharmaceutical Preparation from the French Academy of Pharmacy; First Prize at the 2022 Youth Science and Technology Conference in the Health Sector...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tien-si-tre-dua-ra-giai-phap-moi-trong-dieu-tri-ung-thu-185250109191448335.htm