Development of a prostate cancer test kit suitable for Koreans based on the largest number of genetic samples in Korea
Prostate cancer, one of the most common male cancers in an aging society, has more than doubled in the past 10 years in Korea and will soon catch up to a level similar to that in the Western world. In addition to prostate cancer, cancer of the urinary system, which is cancer that occurs frequently in old age, shows an increasing trend with the aging of the population. In order to improve this situation, there are doctors who are working hard to overcome cancer beyond the operating room. I met Professor Byun Seok-soo of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, who is an authority on urinary oncology and also the CEO of a venture company that develops prostate cancer predictive diagnostic kits.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: You are also the CEO of Procagen, a venture company that developed a prostate cancer kit in addition to being a professor and doctor. I'm curious about you and your motivation for starting the prostate cancer kit development venture.
A. Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Professor Byun Seok-soo (hereinafter referred to as Byun Seok-soo): I graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and completed my urology major at Seoul National University Hospital. In 2003, I started working as a professor in the Department of Urology in line with the opening of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. While treating patients in urinary oncology, I saw patients with advanced tumors detected in late stage not being cured and dying after fighting the disease. I thought it was important to detect cancer at an early stage through early diagnosis.
As prostate cancer is one with a strong genetic tendency, similar to breast cancer in women, the occurrence of cancer differs depending on the innate genetic state. The prostate cancer prediction kit that I make is a genetic analysis service specialized for Koreans and was founded to help prevent or detect prostate cancer early by finding high-risk groups for prostate cancer
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: Has the prostate cancer kit been tried overseas? Who will benefit the most from the kit you developed?
A. Byun Seok-soo : There is a product made by a US gene analysis company in collaboration with Johns Hopkins urology teams. However, these kits have a disadvantage in that the accuracy of the test is low when a test suitable for Caucasians is applied to Asians due to racial differences. To supplement this, it is to make an analysis kit more suitable for Koreans and Asians. Men who have prostate cancer in their immediate family will benefit the most, and all men with prostate disease will be eligible.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: The incidence of urinary tract cancer is high in adult males. Is this mainly influenced by lifestyle or genetics? What are some ways to prevent cancer of the urinary tract?
A. Byun Seok-su : The major urinary cancers in Korea are prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer. Prostate cancer has a strong genetic predisposition, and the rest of the cancers are greatly influenced by lifestyle. Smoking, in particular, is a risk factor for all three cancers. This is the main reason why it occurs more often in men. Obesity is also a risk factor, so it is important to maintain an appropriate weight through good eating habits and regular exercise from a young age. Since all cancers do not have symptoms in their early stages, regular check-ups should not be missed. An early diagnosis of major urinary cancers is possible by adding abdominal ultrasound.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: At Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, patient-specific kidney using 3D printing has been clinically tried and applied more than 100 times. If other surgical methods come to mind quickly using new technology, please explain.
A. Byun Seok-soo : The main surgical method for small kidney cancer is partial nephrectomy to preserve kidney function. In many cases, total resection is performed for kidney cancer with large tumor size or a difficult location for surgery. In our department, for the case of those difficult tumors, we create a 3D customized kidney model and use it as a reference for robotic surgery to reduce the operation time. The actual clinical application has exceeded 100 cases, which is the world's first result. It has been applied for registration as new medical technology.
In addition, HIFU (High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound) surgery was introduced in Korea in 2018 for local treatment of early prostate cancer, recording the highest number of surgeries. As such, the Department of Urology at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital has established itself as an internationally recognized urological oncology center by rapidly introducing cutting-edge surgical methods.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: You have performed more than 2,200 cases of robotic surgery and are recognized as one of the leading experts in robotic surgery in Korea. Is robotic surgery used to remove cancer before it metastasizes? I would like to know the pros and cons of robotic surgery compared to conventional cancer surgery.
A. Byun Seok-soo: In cancer treatment, surgery is basically performed for the purpose of a complete cure by removing all tumors before they metastasize. The effectiveness of robotic surgery first began to be known in prostate cancer surgery, and its effectiveness in partial nephrectomy for small kidney cancer has been recognized, and robotic surgery is increasing worldwide. As of 2017, robotic surgery has increased to about half of the partial nephrectomy in Korea, and currently, more than 50% of patients are undergoing robotic surgery.
The advantage of robotic surgery in prostate cancer is that the prostate can be seen clearly in an enlarged view, which makes the surgery be performed accurately and so the recovery rate of erectile dysfunction that can occur after the surgery is better than that of open abdominal surgery. In addition, blood transfusion is rare because there is little bleeding, and it is possible to return to daily life through low pain after the surgery and fast recovery. Robotic surgery in kidney cancer is a type of laparoscopic surgery. During a partial nephrectomy, kidney damage is reduced by shortening the ischemic time when blood to the kidney is blocked during tumor removal. Robot surgery makes it possible to conduct partial nephrectomy, not total resection, for tumors located in difficult places. In fact, some of my patients come from all over the country to save their kidneys or avoid opening their kidneys after hearing that all of their kidneys need to be removed or opened.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: There must be a lot of grievances between doctors and businessmen. If you have any goals for the future, please tell us.
A. Byun Seok-soo: Being able to understand patients' unmet needs is one of the advantages of being a doctor, and we started our business to solve this problem. However, it seems to be very difficult to advance service that can be used in the market. While it is a genetic analysis service for predicting the occurrence of prostate cancer, I want to survive in the market by expanding it to prevent, early diagnose, and manage various diseases experienced by middle-aged men.
A. Seoul National University Bundang Hospital Professor Byun Seok-soo (hereinafter referred to as Byun Seok-soo): I graduated from Seoul National University College of Medicine and completed my urology major at Seoul National University Hospital. In 2003, I started working as a professor in the Department of Urology in line with the opening of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. While treating patients in urinary oncology, I saw patients with advanced tumors detected in late stage not being cured and dying after fighting the disease. I thought it was important to detect cancer at an early stage through early diagnosis.
As prostate cancer is one with a strong genetic tendency, similar to breast cancer in women, the occurrence of cancer differs depending on the innate genetic state. The prostate cancer prediction kit that I make is a genetic analysis service specialized for Koreans and was founded to help prevent or detect prostate cancer early by finding high-risk groups for prostate cancer
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: Has the prostate cancer kit been tried overseas? Who will benefit the most from the kit you developed?
A. Byun Seok-soo : There is a product made by a US gene analysis company in collaboration with Johns Hopkins urology teams. However, these kits have a disadvantage in that the accuracy of the test is low when a test suitable for Caucasians is applied to Asians due to racial differences. To supplement this, it is to make an analysis kit more suitable for Koreans and Asians. Men who have prostate cancer in their immediate family will benefit the most, and all men with prostate disease will be eligible.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: The incidence of urinary tract cancer is high in adult males. Is this mainly influenced by lifestyle or genetics? What are some ways to prevent cancer of the urinary tract?
A. Byun Seok-su : The major urinary cancers in Korea are prostate cancer, kidney cancer, and bladder cancer. Prostate cancer has a strong genetic predisposition, and the rest of the cancers are greatly influenced by lifestyle. Smoking, in particular, is a risk factor for all three cancers. This is the main reason why it occurs more often in men. Obesity is also a risk factor, so it is important to maintain an appropriate weight through good eating habits and regular exercise from a young age. Since all cancers do not have symptoms in their early stages, regular check-ups should not be missed. An early diagnosis of major urinary cancers is possible by adding abdominal ultrasound.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: At Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, patient-specific kidney using 3D printing has been clinically tried and applied more than 100 times. If other surgical methods come to mind quickly using new technology, please explain.
A. Byun Seok-soo : The main surgical method for small kidney cancer is partial nephrectomy to preserve kidney function. In many cases, total resection is performed for kidney cancer with large tumor size or a difficult location for surgery. In our department, for the case of those difficult tumors, we create a 3D customized kidney model and use it as a reference for robotic surgery to reduce the operation time. The actual clinical application has exceeded 100 cases, which is the world's first result. It has been applied for registration as new medical technology.
In addition, HIFU (High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound) surgery was introduced in Korea in 2018 for local treatment of early prostate cancer, recording the highest number of surgeries. As such, the Department of Urology at Seoul National University Bundang Hospital has established itself as an internationally recognized urological oncology center by rapidly introducing cutting-edge surgical methods.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: You have performed more than 2,200 cases of robotic surgery and are recognized as one of the leading experts in robotic surgery in Korea. Is robotic surgery used to remove cancer before it metastasizes? I would like to know the pros and cons of robotic surgery compared to conventional cancer surgery.
A. Byun Seok-soo: In cancer treatment, surgery is basically performed for the purpose of a complete cure by removing all tumors before they metastasize. The effectiveness of robotic surgery first began to be known in prostate cancer surgery, and its effectiveness in partial nephrectomy for small kidney cancer has been recognized, and robotic surgery is increasing worldwide. As of 2017, robotic surgery has increased to about half of the partial nephrectomy in Korea, and currently, more than 50% of patients are undergoing robotic surgery.
The advantage of robotic surgery in prostate cancer is that the prostate can be seen clearly in an enlarged view, which makes the surgery be performed accurately and so the recovery rate of erectile dysfunction that can occur after the surgery is better than that of open abdominal surgery. In addition, blood transfusion is rare because there is little bleeding, and it is possible to return to daily life through low pain after the surgery and fast recovery. Robotic surgery in kidney cancer is a type of laparoscopic surgery. During a partial nephrectomy, kidney damage is reduced by shortening the ischemic time when blood to the kidney is blocked during tumor removal. Robot surgery makes it possible to conduct partial nephrectomy, not total resection, for tumors located in difficult places. In fact, some of my patients come from all over the country to save their kidneys or avoid opening their kidneys after hearing that all of their kidneys need to be removed or opened.
Q. MEDIEUS QUEEN: There must be a lot of grievances between doctors and businessmen. If you have any goals for the future, please tell us.
A. Byun Seok-soo: Being able to understand patients' unmet needs is one of the advantages of being a doctor, and we started our business to solve this problem. However, it seems to be very difficult to advance service that can be used in the market. While it is a genetic analysis service for predicting the occurrence of prostate cancer, I want to survive in the market by expanding it to prevent, early diagnose, and manage various diseases experienced by middle-aged men.
#Medius#Interview#UrologyMedicine#Seoul National University Bundang Hospital#Byeon Seok-Soo#Gene#Prostate Cancer#Prostate Cancer Kit#Urology Cancer#Kidney Cancer#Robot Surgery#Urology Tumor#KorenRenownedDoctor#Interview with RenownedDoctor#RecommendationsRenownedDoctor# Interview#MDUS
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