China CDC signs collaborative agreement with Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (China CDC) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center today formalized an ongoing relationship by signing a collaboration agreement.  It marks the first such 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 other related health concerns in China and the U.S.

The collaboration was made official during a signing ceremony this morning at the Hutchinson Center involving China CDC Director General Yu Wang, M.D., Ph.D., and incoming Hutchinson Center President and Director Larry Corey, M.D.

"The prevention and early detection of tumors and related infectious diseases, as an important strategy for promoting health and extending a healthy lifespan, are the shared priorities of both the China CDC and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center," said Wang, who leads a delegation from China that is spending three days at the Hutchinson Center to attend a series of science symposia conducted by researchers from both institutions.

"This is a groundbreaking agreement that provides a unique research collaboration in a wide area of global health problems in both infectious diseases and cancer," Corey said.  "The ability to link Hutchinson Center scientists and programs with the China CDC's national database and scientific programs will provide major advantages both to the U.S. and Chinese research communities."

Hutchinson Center and University of Washington faculty since 2003 have 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 their not taking anti-retroviral 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 foundations for the expansion and consolidation of the formal partnership between the Hutchinson Center and the China CDC.

EV71 is among the subjects of the science symposium attended by the Chinese delegation.  Other topics include tuberculosis and early detection of cancer, with an initial emphasis on gastrointestinal cancer.